Sanctuary
by X-Xepher-X
Summary: "I have not met someone is so...afraid of everything that touches them" Micaiah Amirra lost his courage long ago. He was haunted by these invisible words for nearly all his life. With a unforgettable past behind him and an uncertain future ahead, he didn't know where to turn. He might have a long and rocky road ahead of him, but the Titans won't let him off the hook that easy.
1. A Refuge to Call Home: Part 1

Tired was an understatement to the teen. He was ready to collapse and slam his head into the goddamn pavement.

He painfully dragged his aching feet across the ground, moving at a snails pace. His brown boots, although padded, didn't help with miles and miles of walking. His loose, light brown pants clung onto his sweaty body like it was tapped right onto his skin. It didn't help that he wore multiple layers of clothing either, especially in the bright, hot sun of the city.

His first layer began with a rose printed cloth, colored a soft blue and tied at his shoulder, causing it to hang off the side of his body like a weird, a makeshift cape. Under was a dark blue short sleeved shirt, with a growing visible pit sweat. And of course, the last layer was made up of a cream colored long sleeves short with tight, golden colored wristlets. Even his hands were sweating up a storm, covered up a thick piece of leather with a blue gem within the middle.

He wiped the thick sweat cleanly up his forehead, causing it to slip into his thick, wavy black hair. Although his hair reached his shoulders, he didn't bother a stumpy little ponytail. Mainly because he didn't have a hair tie, nor saw one in sight.

With a deep sigh, the golden skinned teen flicked the excess sweat from his clammy hands and continued to stumble through the street like a drunken zombie. His pale blue eyes glanced up to the slightly cloudy sky, as though it was about to put out rain and probably solve half of his problems. His body begged for that gulp of water he drank hours ago. His lungs pleaded for that air that he couldn't seem to get. He felt like the wreck he looked.

It was his own damn fault of course for deciding to run most of his trip. If he would have been patient and just walked, he would still have water, his legs wouldn't feel like jelly, and he wouldn't want to slam head first into the pavement. He thought that now, at least. Yet, he always felt like he couldn't afford to just take a quiet hike across the forest or desert. Everything had to be planned out to the smallest detail. Well, almost everything.

Especially when it felt like something was breathing down his back.

The black haired teen lazily slammed his boot into the ground, as the sound of engines filled his ears. Sure enough, when he lifted up his head, through his sticky hair, he saw the sweet, sweet sight of cars. And buildings. And people. He finally reached what he was looking for.

A city.

With a sigh of relief that came out more like a throaty groan of fear, a smile crossed his face. It was a pure smile of joy, happiness, and utter relief, a smile that seemed to put the sun to shame for a moment. He finally made it. He finally found what he was searching for. He made it to Jump City. So, he continued his journey, ready to take on whatever dared to block his way.

In his dreams, at least.

* * *

 _4 Days Later…_

It was just a normal day at Titans tower. Take now for instance.

It was only normal that Cyborg was kicking Beast Boy's ass into next week at the new fighting game. The cyborgs robotic fingers cleanly glided over the controls as the green skinned teen was slamming random buttons, in hope something would save him. Yet, when he lost yet another match, all that covered his face was utter disappointment.

As usual, Raven silently read her engrossing book in the corner of the room. She hovered over the kitchen counter, leaving her cape to hand off like a curtain. Trying to block out the yelling and cries of desperation, she tried thick ear plugs today. So far, they worked like a charm.

Like any other day, Starfire made another attempt at cooking her lovely, Tamaranian home cuisine. With a careful tongue hanging from her lips, she struggled to stir the pathetically green slop that was stick into the pot. When she lifted the spoon out of the pot, the slop crawled down the spoon and plopped back.

For what seemed like the 1000th time, Robin snatched the game controller from the weepy, Beast Boy and dug his fingers into the buttons in a strategic way. With his legs tightly crossed, the boy wonder fought against Cyborg like it was the last fight he would ever see. Yet, a grin grew across his face, knowing what the ending result would be. In his mind, it included Cyborg sulking like a little kid.

Unfortunately, he wouldn't see his prized victory.

Right as he went in for the winning kick, the alarms blared through the tower. All eyes turned up as a harsh red flashed through the common room, like something was dangerously on fire. Something was on fire alright. The burning flames of villains destroying all that they touched, that was.

Robin jumped up to his feet, throwing the control aside "Cyborg?"

A map popped up onto the screen, revealing the problem area in front of the cyborg's eyes "East corner of main" Cyborg read aloud.

"Alright Titans, move out!" Robin commanded. In seconds, he and the team rolled out of the living room, ready to take on whatever was ahead of them.

Robbers? No problem. Destroyers? Piece of cake. Just plain old villains? It was nothing. They were the Titans, after all.

The was the mindset that followed the boy wonder as he ran to the scene of the crime, right at the Bank of Perez, to be exact. This mindset nearly controlled him, well, until he finally reached the bank.

"...Huh?"

Robin blinked in surprise at the sight before him. What was supposed to be a casual bank robbery by two men with guns was only two men popped on the sidewalk wrapped tightly in string. Sure, they wiggled and cursed, yet their confines were no match for muscle. Nor the many cops that surrounded them.

"Yeah, you heard me right kid," the police officer said as he rubbed the back of his neck "We found them all tied up like this when he got here. Whatever guns, bags, or masks they had are gone too. Guess you were just late"

The boy wonder shook his head, erasing the surprise from his face "Do you know who could have done this?"

"Not a clue. The only thing the squad found was this"

The police officer lifted and spread out an elegant fan in front of Robin's eyes. It has a intricate design of a few golden colored roses bundled up against a black background, along with a soft yellow border along the edge. It looked just like any other fan: pretty, big, and useless in a battle.

"They said they saw someone about your guy's age carrying it around," The officer explained "Tall, dark skinned, wearing some kind of blanket over his shoulder. That's all I got"

Robin nodded as thanks, before the officer disappeared back with his colleagues and continued the case. His attention turned back to the gold and black fan. It was sort of strange to say the least to find something like this in Jump City, definitely not the robbers property. Putting one and two together, it must have been that tall, dark skinned guy's fan. Yet, with no real justified owner, he shrugged, and proceeded to clip it to his utility belt.

A slight, empty hiss escape his mouth as a wave of sharp pain filled his arm. Sure enough, when he scanned down to investigate the damage, a thin, long cut appeared on his arm, slowly pulsating out dark blood. When he slowly unfolded the fan, his eyes, or rather mask, widened in surprise. There, a small spot of blood was revealed on the curved edge.

Silk just couldn't cut people. If it was, silk, the boy wonder thought.

Like the wind, he unfurled the fan and sliced it through the nearest light pole, taking out a small, sharp chunk. Robin narrowed his eyes.

"So, uh, I guess we're not needed here, huh?" Beast Boy anxiously said with his hands stuffed into his pockets. He stared down and kicked a small pebble across the street, feeling much like that broken little rock: small and utterly lost.

Cyborg studied the map on his arm, waiting to pick up another signal. Yet, with no crime, all that was there was an clean map of the city "I'm not picking up anything else. Either the maps need a serious update, or someone beat us to it"

"Someone did"

All eyes turned to Robin, who approached his team in a clam, orderly fashion. They couldn't help but notice that weird black fan hung on his utility belt, like he just found a new weapon. He suddenly whipped it out of his belt and spread it out for all eyes to see.

"Robin, are you alright?" Starfire asked in curiosity, her green eyes drawing to his fresh cut.

"I'm fine," he responded blankly, yet failed to move his arm at all "but I intended to find out who did this"

With a clear mission in mind, the Titans flew, drove, or even simply walked back to the tower. Little did they know, a pair of pale blue eyes closely followed them.

A pair of horrified eyes.

* * *

"No, no, no, no, no…"

The golden skinned teen mumbled that word under his breath over and over again as that masked teen practically snatched that beloved fan of his and stole it away form his hands. Well, not snatched, nor even stole. But, he did take that fan of his.

He sighed and collapsed against the alley wall in utter self pity. It was his fault. It was always his fault. He just had to lose that fan of his.

It was not like any other day to him. One minute he was walking the streets of Jump City desperately searching for a market for food, the next, he heard screaming and gunshots. Next thing he knew people flooded out of the bank, very few with bricks of cash on hand. He could have just walked away and pretend he didn't see a thing, sure, yet that queasy feeling in his stomach said differently. The rest was a complete blur to him. He remembered a failed gun shot or two, but that was about it. Until he found that his fan was missing of course.

Right as he hurried to the alley where he was now and peeked behind the wall, he saw the fan. In that masked teens hand. Slicing through the light pole. That was enough to give in a miniature heart attack. When he walked away with what seemed like to be his team, the pale blue eyed boy was in a melt down.

He didn't have clue of what to do next. He could have done the easiest thing in the world, fastest thing to get his fan back.

You know, ask him for the fan.

But then that would just be too easy. And confrontational.

A million scenarios raced through his head at the thought of even asking for his fan back. He could refuse, he could ask countless, he could go to jail. He was done for if that masked teen did small talk.

Asking politely was useless to him. He didn't have the guts to, anyways. So, like he always did, he planned for the path with probably the most resistance. And of course, the plan with the least amount of contact with people. The thought of small talk made him cringe in fear already.

He suddenly whipped up his head and clenched his fists confidently. He could do this. He could follow his plan and get his fan back with ease. And he didn't have to talk to single soul.

Before he knew it, he picked himself off the ground and thoughtlessly darted across the street. With absolutely no common sense on his mind, the only thing he thought of was his precious fan.

Not the masked teen who was holding it.

* * *

 **Hello! I'm glad you were interested to read this fic of mine.**

 **I'm not very new to this fandom, I've made a fic or two before here (That "other" one has been deleted long, long ago. You might remember it! If you do, well...sorry. This is dramatically different). So, I've been waiting to another fic here for a long time. I finally got a burst of inspiration, so, here I am.**

 **I have a set plan for this fic as follows (vaguely):**

 **-It will follow the T.V show. I've been here long enough to know there's a trope of literally copying and pasting episodes and plopping OC's in and hoping for the best. It's fun to read at first, don't get me wrong, but after a while it becomes stale. Although I will follow the episodes, it WON't be like that. I'll do my very best to have the structure, but with a twist. It's much more fun like that, anyway.**

 **-It has a very SLIGHT cross over with Marvel. So small, you don't have to know a thing about that fandom, nor what characters are in it (because they won't show). Really, the only reason wrote this because I want to put where credit is due, and not seem like I'm stealing another concept.**

 **That's about it for now. I don't want to drag this any longer than it needs to so...**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Let me know your thoughts in the reviews, as they are appreciated.**

 **\- X-Xepher-X**


	2. A Refuge to Call Home: Part 2

Robin delicately fumbled at the fan attached to his belt, as though it was about to fall off and somehow spectacularly return to its owner. With nobody in sight other than his friends, he continued to pick at it.

Unknown to Cyborg, Beast Boy carefully crawled up behind him like a little roach on his back, with mischievous, playful eyes.

"Oh Cybooorg," The green skinned boy practically sang out "You wanna-"

"No" Cyborg swiftly cut him off with a groan. Even as he picked up the pace, he was no match for the speed of Beast Boy. Like a fly, he hovered closely behind the dark skinned teen.

"But we-"

"No man! I'm done with that game!" Cyborg shouted back, referencing that new fighting game they played for hours on end. Sure, it was fun the first 20 times he creamed Beast Boy, but beating him got boring quickly. At least Robin stood a chance.

Beast Boy widened his eyes and opened his mouth "But, I, we...Cyborg!"

"I said I've done!"

"But Cy!"

"Nuh-uh"

"Cyyy"

The green skinned boys whine nearly made Raven groan out loud for the entire world to hear. Instead, she rolled her eyes and flipped her hood snuggly over her head. She drew her dark eyes down to the ground, and slowly trailed them to Robin. She couldn't help but study the fan hooked up to his belt. Clearly, it wasn't just any old fan. Not just any fan cut through pure steel and concrete. Yet, it looked just like any other shes seen.

It certainly planted an idea or two in her mind.

Then a hiss filled her ears

"ROBIN!"

Starfire's shouted in desperation as she jumped across the pavement and slammed Robin to the ground. Her hair snapped into the thick, yet short gust of wind that followed, followed by that same hiss. Robin snapped his eyes up only to see a sight that made the edges of his mask stretch out.

It was a fan. _That fan._

He watched as the black and gold fan hurled itself across the sky like a boomerang. It banked at the edge of the street and flew into the nearby alley, disappearing from sight.

"Starfire?" Robin asked as he got back up to his feet.

"I am fine" She responded with a hint of worry in her voice.

Suddenly, the same fan whipped from the alley once more. It sliced cleanly through the air, and flew just inches above the Titans heads. Right before it returned into its little safe space on the alley, Robin pointed his accusing finger at it, and narrowed his eyes..

"Titans, follow that fan!" He commanded. With that, he dug his heel into the pavement and began to dart at it. The fan cleanly hovered back into the valley, disappeared got from the boy wonders sight completely. He clenched his fist and skidded to a stop right in front of the tiny, thin space. However, all that was left in the alley was cracked concrete and falling bricks.

And a giant dumpster.

Right as Starfire leapt into action, Robin spread out his hand in front of her. She raised her brow.

"Wait," He said "I got an idea. Stand over there"

She reluctantly nodded with the rest of her friends, before he flew down and backed up. With his friends out of range, he carefully backed up in the middle of the empty street, and spread out his legs. Robin quickly pulled out the fan and spread it right over his head, as though it was for the entire world to see.

"You want this back, right?" Robin yelled "Then come and get it!"

"Robin, you-" Cyborg hissed under his breath, as though the boy wonder made a foul mistake.

"Wait," Raven cut through in her dry voice "I think I know what he's planning"

The only thing that filled the air was the occasional gust of wind and silence. Robin simply stood planted in place, waiting for his target to make a move. It was obvious that this fan meant something to its owner, considering he was almost sliced n' diced by another one. It wasn't a matter of if the target would take the bait, but when.

Then something scurried from the edge of the dumpster.

Like a shadow, the figure burst from the alley and darted swiftly into the street. Instead of running, or even putting himself in a reasonable fighting position, Robin stood planted in place. His masked eyes attempted to trail and study and figures face, it seemed to be swallowed up in darkness.

His eyes flickered with surprise as the tall, lean figure hopped high into the air, and rolled its body around right above Robin's spiky head. He snapped his head up to the ever so mysterious figure, and got a good glimpse at his face. Or rather, a good stare.

There, Robin saw a teen, about his age, with golden colored skin and thick, wavy black hair. The golden skinned teen's pale blue eyes widened as his eyes meet the masked boy's face. And the masked boys covered eyes. What happened next made Robin scratch his head in an instant.

He...blushed?

The golden skinned boy's face blushed as pink as a rose, causing his eyes to widen further. Without another plan, he quickly retraced his hand from his lost fan and continued to fall. Frozen in fear, he slammed and tumbled across the ground.

Robin could only raise his brow in utter surprise as the teen pathetically rolled across the ground, with that fear stricken look on his face. It looked like he just walked into something he wasn't supposed to. Even when he slid to a stop his face failed to change. He just laid in the middle of a street like an idiot, waiting for his heart to stop beating out of his chest or someone to yell at him and scare him away.

Idiot.

The was the only word that rang through the pale blue eyes teens mind. He knew he shouldn't have just ran out of the alley like that, that was just plain stupid of him. He knew he was a goner right when he looked at the boy wonder's eyes. So, he laid on the ground defensively, thinking about every little mistake he ever made in his entire existence.

"Uh...what was that?" Cyborg hesitantly chimed in, staring at the fallen teen.

"Beats me" Beast Boy shrugged as an anxious tear of sweat ran down his forehead.

With curiosity on her face, Starfire carefully floated to the stricken teen on the ground. Her brilliant green eyes peered ever so innocently down, as though it was odd for humans to break down emotionally in the middle of the street.

"Greetings human male who appears to be our age," Starfire introduced herself "We mean you no harm!"

"I don't think you can promise that just yet Starfire…" Robin anxiously trailed off.

The golden skinned teen blinked back into reality. Right when he saw those brilliant green eyes of hers, a light squeal escaped his throat. It seemed like he jumped back onto his feet faster than the speed of light. With his hands raised defensively, he scooted a healthy distance from her.

"I-I-I-I-I-uh…" The teen stuttered madly. A foreign accent trailed across his voice smoothly, although it was a bit hard to study where it came from due to all the stuttering "I-I'm so sorry if I-I-I caused you trouble. I p-promise I didn't do-do-do anything wrong. I-I'll be on my way"

He scrunched up his arms tightly against his body, and awkwardly tip toed away. He kept on walking, even though he felt his precious fan practically staring right back at him.

Robin could help but feel a drop of sweat run down his face as he watched the teen painfully walk away. It was like watching a penguin waddle away in the middle of the desert: It was stiff, and it wasn't right at all. A realization suddenly hit him like a pile of bricks. The teen was just painfully shy. That was all. Not dangerous as he appeared to be.

"Hey," Robin called out, causing the golden skinned teen to freeze in place "I think you left this"

The teen paused, frozen in place for a few moments. He squinted his thick brows, as though he was weary of his words. Instead, he swallowed up as much anxiety and fear that he could muster down and turned to the boy wonder.

"Thank you" The black haired teen softly responded as he took his precious fan from his hand. Although he wasn't as painfully nervous as before, his brows were still furrowed anxiously.

"I'm Robin. And we're the Teen Titans?" The boy wonder introduced himself.

"The Teen Titans?"

Robin furrowed his brow "You never heard of us?"

"No, s-sorry, I haven't" The pale blue eyed teen shook his head "I'm-I'm not from around here. I'm not even from this country"

"Oh. What's your name?"

"I'm nobody- I mean, I'm someone, but I'm not important- I mean-" The teen took a deep, long breath, and collected his thoughts "Let me start over"

"Take your time man, there's no rush" Cyborg said with a reassuring smile.

"But would you stop stuttering?" Beast Boy exclaimed "You're making me nervous dude!"

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah" The teen quickly responded.

He widened his pale blue eyes more as Starfire eagerly floated right in front of him, causing his to lean further and further back as Starfire crept closer and closer

"What is your name, where are you from, how did you get here, do you wish to be my friend?" Starfire rapidly shot out her questions like she was on fire. Each time she leaned in, the golden skinned teen would lean back further.

"Uh, uhhh, UH," He mumbled "Could you-could you slow down?" Right as he was about to fall onto the ground, Starfire quickly grabbed onto his arms and yanked him back on his feet.

"Was I too…" Starfire paused, carefully selecting her words "forward?"

He sighed and straightened himself out "No, No, it's alright. You caught me off...guard, that's all," he put in a weak smile "My name is Mika"

He heard a snort from Beast Boy, only causing the black haired boy, Mika, to chuckle anxiously.

"What?" Mika asked.

"Isn't that a girl's name?" Beast Boy snickered, earning a hard, hefty shove from Cyborg.

"Um…" Mika nervously trailed off again.

"Don't mind the grass stain," Cyborg assured, before adding the stink eye to the cowering green skinned teen "He forgot to bring his brain today"

"It's-It's fine," He quickly nodded "It doesn't matter," He sighed "Like I said before, I'm not from here. I-I-I just go wherever it sounds interesting. Your city intrigued me enough, so here I am"

"You do not have a place that you call home?" Starfire asked, with noticeable worry in her voice.

Mika shook his head with a weak smile "It doesn't matter. Home is wherever I am. And besides, I've been fortunate enough to get sleep in the subway. It's a bit loud at times, but it does fine"

The golden skinned teen nearly jumped from his shoes, as he felt a hand brush his shoulder. When he looked up however, it was only the blue colored cyborg.

"Oh come on, that's no place for someone like you to crash" Cyborg said.

"Yes!" Starfire exclaimed "Please, stay with us!"

Mika anxiously chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck "I-I don't know. I should-"

Beast Boy lightly scoffed, and crossed his arms "Jeez dude, what's the harm? Just say yeah already"

The only thing Mika could do was widen his eyes in near shock. He paused and let the swinging tide that was his thoughts settle down back into sight, crashing waves. He felt something he hasn't felt in a while. He couldn't quite explain what it was, but he could sure feel it. It was enough to settle his violently beating heart and smile gladly.

He nodded "Alright. Just for a day"

Starfire squealed in delight, before she grabbed his arm and yanked him off the street. Mika yelped as he was nearly dragged across the street, until he steadied himself and began to run. It wasn't long before Beast Boy and Cyborg darted towards the two, leaving the boy wonder and his half-demon teammate.

Robin couldn't help but notice the certain narrowed eyed glare Raven sent the black haired teen. It wasn't exactly burning with fury, but it wasn't kind either. It was...a studying glare.

"Is everything alright, Raven?" Robin asked. Raven blinked a few times, before tightly pulled at her robes.

"Its nothing," She blankly answered "Are you getting anything from him?"

"Not really. He looks a bit shy and insecure, but that's all. He seems harmless enough. You?"

"He feels a little...off"

Robin raised a brow in curiosity "How?"

Raven paused "He's not a normal human being, that's for sure. I...felt like I've seen this before, but I can't quite put my finger on it"

"So, you're saying keep an eye on him?"

"Until I'm certain about my feelings and what he could be. Or, until he leaves"

Robin nodded and stared back into the distance, and let his eyes stare into the speck that was Mika in the distance. Even as he was smiling along with the boy wonder's teammates, he tried to uncover what could be behind that weak smile of his.

But he couldn't find a single thing.

* * *

 _Splash_

Mika gently whistled to himself as he drowned the last of his clothing into the bubbly bath that was the sink. He carefully eyed his soft blue blanket, like he was inspecting. When he was finally satisfied, he simply hung it onto the drying rack, along with his other clothes.

He couldn't remember the last time he had a good shower. Sure, he batted in random public pool showers and the occasional gym, but they always lacked soap. And towels. It felt like he was shedding off layers and layers of dirt when he entered the Titans shower. He probably left a ring around the tub.

So, wearing nothing but a white, fluffy robe and a tight bun on his head, he clapped his hands free to excess soap, and finally drained the sink. He swept his two precious black fans from the counter and dropped them safely in his pocket. He was so relieved, he barely noticed the Titans eying him from the couch.

"Mika's been cool so far" Cyborg shrugged at Robin's questions about the golden skinned teen "He used half of the supply of our shampoo, but it's all cool"

"Half?!" Beast Boy exclaimed "We're not made of money, you know!"

"Since when have you been concerned about the price of anything?" Raven pointed out with a raised brow, hidden in her robes "And when was the last time you actually bothered to bathe yourself?"

"Heh, heh…" He nervously chuckled back "You got me there…"

"I know, but doesn't he seem...nervous to you?" Robin asked, lowering his voice.

Cyborg quickly eyed Mika, who already began to clean his mess of the counters "I don't know what else you see in him Robin, but all I see is a guy whose people skills needs a little fine tuning. Probably why he's wandering around from city to city"

"Our new friend needs others to talk to," Starfire pointed out "to improve his skills of the people"

He sighed, and rubbed his neck in thought "Yeah, I suppose"

"But most important, he is in need of a home"

"I-" Robin was about to say. By the time he looked up however, Starfire was entirely missing from the couch. A tear of anxious sweat dripped from his forehead once he saw the smiling Tamaranian silently float behind the oblivious black haired teen. He was simply throwing away the last of the towels he used to clean the counter, and nothing more.

"New friend Mika!" Starfire suddenly exclaimed loud and clear.

Mika yelped as high as any teen his age could, and practically crawled out of his skin. She crossed her brows in confusion as Mika tripped on the flat ground, causing him to grip the drying rack wire like he was holding for dear life. By the time his pale blue eyes met the Tamaranian, they were as wide as dinner plates.

"Oh, Star-Starfire, you-" He stuttered, before he was quickly cut off.

"Do you wish to go out into the city with us and have the pizza?" Starfire eagerly asked. Her hopeful smile defiantly caused a anxious tear to run down his face.

"No-No thank you. I was-"

"Why do you refuse?" Starfire questioned in disappointment.

"No, no, no, no, it's not like that," Mika raised his hands in defense "I was planning to cook rajma for all of you, actually"

"What is this 'rajma' you speak of?"

"It's an Indian dish with kidney beans in a thick gravy"

"Oh. Are you certain?"

He put a weak smile on his face "It's the very least I could do for all of you"

Starfire paused before she reluctantly nodded, and flew back to the couch, leaving Mika with few pots and pans for company.

He didn't mind one bit

* * *

It wasn't long before night finally fell on Titan tower. After a hearty dinner, provided by one other than the golden skinned teen, it seemed nearly everyone was ready to go to bed or hit the sack. So, after Mika cleaned up, only leaving a pot of leftovers on the counter, everyone dragged themselves to their bedrooms. This left the golden skinned teen to fend for himself against the dark shadows of the night in the main room of the tower. It was dark, quiet, and lonely: just the perfect place for sleep. If he could actually get some shut eye, that was.

Starfire pleasantly hummed down the hallway, prepared to get the clear, liquid drink that was the water of the earth. When the door finally slid open, she silently floated to the sink and grabbed a cup. Right as she was about to let the cool water flow from the faucet, she noticed a shadow out of the corner of her eyes. She twisted her head in curiosity, only to see the golden skinned teen. There he sat, inches from the window, with his arm rested comfortably upon his knee. He stared blankly outside into the darkness that was the night, along with the glowing city lights and crashing waves.

"New friend Mika" Starfire said, as she floated to the teen. Mika turned his head in surprise, even blinking a few times. Instead of the usual squeals or fearful faces that came from him, he weakly smiled.

"Oh, hi Starfire" He responded, before he drew his pale blue eyes back to the window.

"Why can you not sleep?" She asked "What brings you trouble?"

"Nothing, nothing of concern," Mika sighed "It doesn't matter, anyways"

"Then something is bothering you?"

"I-I wouldn't say bothering"

"Please, do not be afraid to speak on what troubles you"

"It's not that important…"

"Why can't you not tell me?"

"I'm not worth worrying about!" Mika suddenly raised his voice, causing it to echo through the room. He immediately widened his eyes and slapped his hand over his mouth, as though he said something that insulted the alien girl. Even his face began to blush a rosy pink, in his embarrassment.

He jumped up to his feet and frantically looked at Starfire "I-I-I'm sorry for yelling at you. Just-just forget everything I said"

The brilliant green eyed teen frowned, and gently placed her hand on his shoulder. Mika was about open his mouth to respond to her actions, but she shook her head.

"I do not think I have met someone like you on earth yet" She thought, with a studying tilt of her head.

"Like who?" Mika replied hesitantly.

"I have not met someone who is so…afraid of everything that touches them"

She let her hand delicately leave his shoulder, letting him freeze in place like a block of ice. With that, she drew her eyes down and floated away into the hallway. Mika continued to watch even minutes after the door finally slid shut. He gripped tighter onto his blanket-like shawl, and squeezed his eyes shut.

A solitary hot, steamy tear fell from his eye.

* * *

"Titans, go!"

Mika suddenly snapped awake at the boy wonder's sudden command. His words became jumbled once he crashed into the floor just below the couch, leaving a thick blanket to cover his head. In an instant, he flung everything onto the couch and jumped up, curious of what the noise was all about. So, he saw the five Titans, darting past him from the mainframe, ready to fight another crime.

Cyborg casually jogged past him with a firm face, prepared for battle "Someone got their beautyrest last night"

Mika anxiously glanced outside, to see that it was in fact, the blinding rays of the morning. In response, he chuckled and shrugged "I-I guess"

"Tell me about it…" Beast Boy trailed off, catching up "Hey, that's my thing!"

"Cinderblock escaped jail again," Robin explained, as he darted past him "He's at the junkyard"

Mika suddenly felt a shiver rush through his entire spine. His eyes widened as the blue caped teen passed by him, leaving her icy, cold air in his vicinity.

"Stay here," Raven said with a certain edge in her voice "Understand?"

"Uh, I-"

"Hey Mika, you coming or what?" Cyborg called out, not hearing a word Raven even uttered. It was enough to send a pulsating vein on her forehead.

"Cyborg, I don't-" Robin was swiftly cut off.

"Come on dude!" Beast Boy demanded "Hurry up!"

Mika blinked a few times in surprise, before Starfire swiftly walked past him. She seemed to linger at the door, as though she was about to say a few words. Instead, she briefly glanced at the golden skinned boy, before she finally swept herself away behind the door.

He paused, before a grin came upon his face. He eagerly nodded, and ran closely behind. It was like he was ready to take on the world at that moment, as that surge of sudden confidence surged through his veins. But like anything, it was short lived. It especially slammed out of his body right as he stepped foot into the junkyard.

He nearly opened his mouth in shock at the gigantic size of Cinderblock. It was a dramatic difference from those robbers he tied up, not only in size, but in sanity. While the robbers actually had a goal, Cinderblock...was just crushing things under his feet.

A worker screamed bloody murder as he desperately flung himself out of the grey villains giant foot, missing his wrath by inches. The same worker hissed as a thick chunk of metal stabbed into his leg. Thick blood flowed his fresh wound, leaving him immobile and a perfect target. Cinderblock noticed, at least.

The worker widened his eyes, and lifted up his shaky hands in horror at the giant foot that came crashing down at him. Right when all seemed lost forever, when he thought he would never see his wife or little girl again, a thick circle of black aura surrounded his body. Cinderblock violently slammed his foot on the shield repeatedly, but no matter how hard he tried, he barely left a scratch.

"Yo block head!"

The nearly innocent Cinderblock growled lightly and turned around. Without so much a chance to defend himself, a bright beam of blue light slammed into his face. He fell right to the ground like, well, a pile of bricks, leaving thick dust in his wake. Raven immediately lifted the terrified worker off the ground,many carried him to safety, right next to the frozen, wide eyed Mika.

"Watch him," Raven bluntly commanded, as she plucked the worker right on the ground, and flew back to the fight.

Mika quickly nodded, even though Raven didn't see a single thing.

Robin jumped up to a little hill on the junkyard, with the morning light to glow behind him. It certainly made him look as heroic as ever. Mika noticed, in the very least from his safe little spot next to the worker.

"It's time to take you down once and for all, Cinderblock" Robin proclaimed, before he raised his accusing finger at the grey villain

Suddenly, Beast Boy ran at Cinderblock, and transformed into a green, angry elephant. He charged at Cinderblock, at least until he used his big, solid fits and stopped the green skinned hero in his tracks. They skidded across the junkyard, kicking up thick dust and other undesirable things not to breath in.

"You got the sonic?" Robin asked, unfurling a charge from his belt "

"Yeah, you got the boom?" Cyborg asked with a smirk.

Robin nodded.

They darted off in different directions, ready to leap into the air. In one fluid motion, they both ran and bounced of similar metal plates, and whipped around eachother like a swirl of hurt and inevitable doom. Cyborg adjusted his cannon, and let it loose, letting the thick laser pierce the air. Robin cleanly slid the charge into the middle of the beam, causing it to explode on touch. Cinderblock managed to show some emotion on his firm face as the thick booms shot towards his way. In instinct, he lifted up the helpless green elephant off the ground, using Beast Boy as a shield. The green skinned teen immediately turned back human and squealed in absolute terror.

"Wait, Robin, Cy!" Beast Boy cowered, but it was too late.

The booms pieced into Cinderblock, kicking up dirt and dust everywhere. Suddenly, Beast Boy's body pierced through the dust, and flew high into the air. Right before he crashed straight into the ground and made 2-D splatter art of himself, he flipped through the air and made himself some kind of green, radioactive hawk.

By the time the dust cleared, Cinderblock stayed put firmly in place, without a scratch on his face.

A sweat of nervousness ran down Beast Boy's face.

Starfire whipped right past his face, and shot her glowing green starbolts at Cinderblock. Like a fly was buzzing annoyingly around his ear holes, he groaned and waved his thick hand into the air. Starfire continued to shoot her bolts, waiting for the next move.

"Azarath metrion zinthos!" Raven called out. A thick black aura consumed a giant metal beam, before she lifted it up and carried it towards Cinderblock. Oblivious to the plan, Cinderblock continue to swat away Starfire's annoying attacks. Raven brought her delicate hands together, causing the metal beam to wrap around his legs. Before Cinderblock could react, his little eye holes widened. Like a blown building, he tumbled down. Straight towards Mika and the worker.

Mika widened his eyes in horror along with the screaming worker as a thick shadow consumed them. The shadow could only come from Cinderblock's thick, hard back that hurled straight towards them. The golden skinned teen froze, his thoughts nothing more than mixed up alphabet soup. He didn't have a single thought in that little head of his, nothing other than the thoughts of his death. So, he coward, tightly wrapped his hands around his head, and squeezed his eyes shut.

But nothing happened.

He slowly opened his eyes and lifted up his head. Sure, the worker was still screaming his head off, but he didn't seem to notice, nor even care. Instead, he blinked rapidly in amazement. Only inches from him was Raven, holding up a thick shield to protect them both.

Right as Starfire took Cinderblock's attention once more, Raven lifted her shield up, and sent a cold, deadly glare at Mika.

"Help us or get out of the way" the half-demon demanded, leaving Mika on the ground as confused and scared as ever.

Suddenly, a giant concrete fist hurled towards her body. Before she could even comprehend what was happening, the fist slammed into her body. Like a rag doll, she helplessly flew into the air and crashed into a pile of metal and other dangerously sharp things. She slowly lifted up her hand in perseverance, before her eyes slammed shut and went limp.

"Raven!" Robin yelled. Right as he stepped forward, a bigger, more deadly foot slammed right in front of him, missing him by inches. A thick cloud of dust violently pushed him to the ground.

"I'll get Raven, you take care of Cinderblock" Robin commanded. Cyborg nodded, before he shot off another laser.

"BB, let em' have it!" Cyborg yelled.

In an instant, Beast Boy rubbed his hands mischievously. He slithered across the ground and turned into a boa constrictor, ready for his plan. It would have went well however, if Starfire ceased her attacks.

Cinderblock growled and grunted as Starfire rained down her starbolts, piercing his body like bee stings. He slowly stepped back further and further, in an attempt to escape the charade. Then Beast Boy happened to notice a giant foot. Aimed straight at him.

He gulped.

Before he could even transform back into his human self, Cinderblock's foot slammed right into him. What was left was an incredibly dizzy Beast Boy and an imprinted image of himself embedded in the dirt. He wasn't getting up anytime soon.

Robin leapt into the thick pile of metal and glass, and plucked the unconscious Raven from the ground. With a grunt, he flung her body over his shoulder and jumped away. Dust and dirt surrounded his view, like a thick, oblivious shield. He didn't know where in the heck he even was. At least until he saw a giant shadow.

He snapped his head behind him, only to see giant, concrete hand come crashing down at him. He knew he didn't have enough to escape, let alone with Raven on his back. So, he grunted, and rapidly tossed Raven's body across the ground, stayed planted for cover. He expected pain in the very least. Not loud grunts.

He slowly opened his eyes, only to see the blue cyborg using all of his might to keep the giant, concrete hand from crashing down. Cyborg grimaced as he dug his hands into Cinderblock's thick hands, like a human car jack. A human car jack that was showing signs of wear.

"Get outta here! I got this…" the dark skinned teen growled, as he began to slide across the ground. Robin took no hesitation to crawl to his feet and grab Raven, leaving Cyborg to fend for himself. Before Starfire could swoop down to his rescue, Cinderblock finally slammed his hands into the ground, only leaving a layer of gloomy dust in his wake.

"Cyborg!" Starfire cried. Right as she flew down, Cinderblock finally grasped that little annoying fly of his, and held her tightly in his fist. She grunted as she tried to squeeze and squirm out, even lighting up her hands brilliantly with her starbolts. Right as it seemed she would escaped, Cinderblock lifted her high above his hand, and violently threw her into the nearby cliff. She flew through the air like a baseball, not destined to be caught, and crashed into the thick dirt of the cliff.

Robin slowly backed up as Cinderblock took his attention back to the one, remaining Titan. Robin wasn't about to run off now, he had his team mates, his friends to protect. Even as Cinderblock crawled closer and closer, Robin stayed planted firmly in place. He quickly tossed Raven once again out of the way, raised his hands into the air. He was prepared to take on Cinderblock, no matter how the odds seemed. No matter if even Mika knew it was a fight he wouldn't win alone.

The golden skinned teen could only look in horror, as Cinderblock down Titan after Titan, like knocking down a pile of dominos. His legs became violently shaky, so much even he simply collapsed on his knees after a while. With wide, scared eyes, Mika watched Robin hold his ground against the behemoth. And he couldn't move an inch.

It was the same feeling he always got when everything seemed dire. It was the feeling that blinded him from helpless, innocent citizens. It was the feeling that turned his limbs to jelly, then to concrete, freezing him in place. It was the feeling that made every little noise pound through his ears, like a wall of screams and noise.

He was afraid.

" _I have not met someone who is so…afraid of everything that touches them"_

And he despised it.

Mika gradually unburied his hands from his face, and narrowed his pale blue eyes.

"Is this who I am now?" He whispered under his breath, letting his eyes fixate onto a shiny piece of metal on the ground "Afraid? A _coward_?"

The word hit him like daggers to his chest. It took him so long to finally say those words. He never wanted to admit it, because that who he was, a lonely coward who's afraid of everything and everyone. And he was so tired of those invisible words.

He clenched onto his fan, with all his might.

Robin sent a charge at Cinderblock's face, doing nothing but anger the villain. Robin darted to the side, and rolled across as Cinderblock slammed his foot right near him once again. The boy wonder coughed and quickly swatted the thick, milk-thick gust away from his face. By the time it all cleared, he was on his back, with Cinderblock erriely towering over him.

Then a certain fan flew in front of his face.

Robin blinked in surprise as that black fan banked around Cinderblock's face. Cinderblock himself even seemed stunned as the fan snapped by his face in less than a second. By the time the grey villain managed to turn himself around, the fan already found its place back home, right in Mika's nimble fingers.

With narrowed, blue pale eyes, he unfurled his other fan, and crossed his arms. They framed his face, letting his new found confidence swim out visibly.

"Cinderblock!" He yelled "Come and get me…"

Mika violently threw his fans into the air and let them swim through the rough air currents. He darted right at the grey villain, pouring his feet into the ground. Cinderblock held out his hands, as to catch the two fans. Instead of stopping the seemingly pathetic weapons, they sliced through his fingers like butter. Cinderblock visibly widened his eyes, as a few of his fingers quite literally fell straight from his hand, and crashed into the ground below.

As one giant, concrete finger was about to crash the golden skinned boy, he held up his hands firmly into the air, and began to paint towards the sky. Robin widened his eyes, as Mika's fingers left a golden, magic streak behind, eventually creating a brilliant, elegant pattern right above him. The concrete finger finally crashed into the elegant pattern, a shield, Robin thought. The pale blue eyed teen's shield cracked the finger in two, and settled right next to him.

With a swipe of his hands, the shield became sparkly dust, and settled into the earth. His beloved fans flew straight back into his hands, before he stuffed them into his pocket and ran over to Robin.

Mika held out his hand, and glanced down to the boy wonder "I have an idea. Are you ready for it?"

No matter how much Robin stared into his eyes, he didn't see a bit of terror, nor anxiousness he saw before in the teen. It was determination.

He smirked, and grabbed his hand "Ready as I'll ever be"

As Mika quickly whispered to Robin, Cinderblock finally snapped out of his shock. Sure, a few of his important fingers were missing, but his anger was still there. He was boiling with rage if he wasn't before. Suddenly, he howled into the bright sky with all his might, and began to charge the speck that took his body parts away.

A charge suddenly clung onto his face, and exploded in an instant. He stopped his raging run, causing him to stumble back and shake the ground.

Mika slid across the dirt under his legs, and skid behind him. He spread out his arms, and coiled his hands together. With a deep, calm sigh, he yanked his hands away, revealing a golden, sparlking rope. As Robin occupied Cinderblock with the occasional bomb and kick, Mika quickly circled around him, letting his created rope tie around his legs. After a few circles, Cinderblock finally tripped and slammed into the ground, his legs all twisted and firmly tied. He groaned and squirmed a few times, yet it was like the rope was made out of the strongest steel in the world.

Robin chucked another charge, but not at Cinderblock, but at the ground next to him. The charge beeped loudly a few times and rolled across the ground, until it circled to a stop.

Then it exploded.

Suddenly, thick, metal twine erupted from the ground beside the fallen Cinderblock, and pierced the ground as it flew above him. Right when they clawed through the ground, they tightened, trapping Cinderblock.

Mika spread out his palms, causing his created rope to vanish into thin air. For what seemed like months, perhaps even years, he smiled. He smiled confidently.

And so there Cinderblock stood, or rather laid, trapped in the confines of Robin's weapon. Sure, he groaned, growled, and tried to struggle out, but he was no match for a plan and thick wire. Another plan was foiled.

A particular camera, fixed inside a beaten up car, zoomed in.

* * *

"Masters of the what what?" Beast Boy asked, not getting a single word that rolled out of the golden skinned teen's mouth.

After a long, grueling battle, the titans found themselves back at their sweet, sweet, tower. A few wore bandages across their forehead, Like Beast Boy did, or a few tiny bandages like Starfire had. Either way, everyone was banged up somehow. Even Mika had as few bandages around his hands, cut and torn up by a few concrete chunks from Cinderblock. Still, all was calm.

Mika blinked a few times, before he weakly smiled "Masters of the Mystic Arts. It's a line of sorcery dedicated to saving the earth against...other magical threats. I was raised in this line of sorcery before…" He trailed off, refusing to finish that sentence.

"Before what?" Robin asked with a raised brow. All that he received in real response was a smile.

"Oh, nothing," Mika assured "I'm just wandering off again"

Robin was about to open his mouth to protest, but he decided it would be better just to drop it. There was was no point to push a pole cemented into the ground.

"That would explain the shields and weapons…including your fan..." Raven thought. It certainly explained those feelings she felt only a day ago. Magical beings always had a certain aura to them, some more rare than others. The mystic arts weren't exactly something to rave about, but they came far in between for the half-demon.

Mika nodded "Ever since I was little, I've always wanted to be a hero," He explained "It felt right, you know? I know I'm…" He squeezed his hands "Shy, but I don't want to be that anymore. I want to be someone good"

In one fluid motion, he stood up, and aimed for the door. Right at the exit, he quickly bowed.

"Thank you for...everything. I-I said I would stay one night so…"

"So, where ya heading to next MK?" Cyborg asked, already giving him his own nickname, with a stamp of approval.

Mika blinked in surprise "Oh, um...I don't know yet. I'll go wherever the wind takes me, I guess"

He have one last hearty good bye, and turned around. At least until, someone stopped him right in his tracks.

"Do you have a place in which you call home?" The Tamaranian asked. By the time Mika tired, he saw Starfire eagerly cupping her hands, curious of her response.

He anxiously chuckled an rubbed his neck "It's like I said, home is wherever I am"

"Then why don't you come and stay here dude?"

Mika blinked and paused "What-what do you mean?"

Robin smirked and stood up "The team and I talked about it for a while, and came to a decision. So, how about you start being good over here?"

Mika's eyes lit up in what seemed like pure joy. His heart fluttered unimaginably, as though a thousand butterflies swan into that beating organ of his "You want me to join the Teen Titans?"

Cyborg nodded "We could use another lil' wizard on the team"

When the golden skinned boy glanced back to Robin, he noticed a yellow communicator rested in his hand. It shined brilliantly in the light and against the sorcerer's pale blue eyes. Sitting in the middle of the communicator was none other than the Titan logo.

"Welcome to the Teen Titans, Mika" Robin said with an equally welcoming grin.

Mika turned his mouth into a wide, joyful smile as he lifted the communicator in his hand. His fingers gently squeezed into its circular shape. It just felt...right to him.

"Yes, welcome!"Starfire exclaimed, as she leapt at the golden skinned boy and smothered him with an unusually tight hug. Sure,met was a little hard to breath with Starfire's enormous strength, but Mika didn't bother to move. Instead, he returned the favor and squeezed her tightly. He softly dug his head into her shoulder and closed his eyes. Then, his lip began to tremble.

And then he just burst into tears.

"Oh uh...you don't have to cry, it's not a big deal…" Beast Boy anxiously said, in hopes of stopping the water works. His plead was barely heard through Mika's ears, as hot, steamy tears fell from his eyes and rolled into Starfire's shoulder. Starfire didn't shove him off, instead she pat his back like she was attempting to burp a baby.

"There, there, everything will be alright" Starfire sweetly said.

"Anyone want to get the dude tissues?" Cyborg raised his brow.

Raven sighed and flew off "He'll stain the coffee table at this rate…"

" _I'm finally doing it, Soma…"_ He thought, sniffing " _I'm going to be a hero…"_

* * *

 **Thank you guest for your review!**

 **So, that's that!** **I hope you enjoyed! I know it's still a bit early to ask this, but, what do you think of Mika? What do you like about him? What do you dislike about him? What do you think I could improve on for him? Reviews are appreciated!**

 **\- X-Xepher-X**


	3. Sisters

"Boo-yah!"

Cyborg exclaimed his signature line as he tossed a small, plastic ring into an array of bottles. The ring bounced of one of the glass bottles, and bounced down the neck of another. His eyes widened in excitement as the ring safely rattled down the neck, signaling his absolute victory.

In the background of the amusement park, a few fireworks burst in the night sky. It was just another fun day for the Titans. Sure, those type of days were few in between, but everyone wanted to make the most of it. Even Raven.

"Sweet!" Beast Boy shouted back, before he gave a high five to the winner that was the dark skinned teen. With that, he received a big, fluffy stuffed chicken, and handed it to the not so interested Raven

"Told you we'd win you a prize" Beast Boy said, raising his brow playfully a few times

"A giant chicken. I must be the luckiest girl in the world" Raven replied ever so blankly, she nearly rolled her dark eyes out of her head.

Mika suspiciously eyed the little red ring in his fingers, as though it was about to explode in his bare hands. It was like he didn't know what to make of thine thing, or rather the game. It was painfully obvious to Cyborg at least.

"So.." Mika trailed off, as he twisted the ring around his fingers "The objective is to get this ring around one of these bottles?"

He nodded "Sounds easy enough, right?" he snickered. Even throwing that ring to get the chicken nearly took him half the night. He probably emptied his pockets of money.

Mika only shrugged "I had a game similar to this when I was little, back in my home country. Expect, it included milk jugs and hair ties"

"Come on man, give it a shot" Cyborg gave a hearty pat on Mika's shoulder, causing him to tense up like a ruler.

"A-alright…"

The sorcerer narrowed his pale blue eyed and tossed the first red ring. As though the mere presence of the wind carried it to victory, the little plastic ring slowly hovered down the neck of the bottle.

"Huh?!" Cyborg muffled in amazement.

"Yeah…" Beast Boy blinked a few times "Nice job, dude?"

Mika anxiously chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck "He he...I guess throwing my fans really paid off…"

His eyes lit up in surprise as the amusement park worker stuffed a little black and white plush cow into his hands. He couldn't help but a bring a little pink color to his face as the stuffed animal's beady little eyes stared back right at him, as though the cute animal was trying to stare deep into his soul. That soon faded however when he smiled, and hugged the stuffed cow close to his chest.

Suddenly, Robin plumented to the ground, seemingly out of thin air. The boy wonder bounced back up, and whipped his metal staff from his tool belt.

"Titans! Trouble!" Robin yelled out.

"Where's Starfire?" Cyborg asked urgently.

"That's the trouble"

Starfire suddenly whipped through the air right above the Titan's heads, frantically flying from a pink, bullet like object with tentacles. She made a sharp bank around the ferris wheel, before she dived towards the pier. Like an angry, vicious dog, the unknown object closely followed her with a vengeance.

"No more chasing now, please!" Starfire begged, training across the cold ocean. She yelled, as though it would actually work.

"Who's her new best friend?" Beast Boy anxiously asked, as Starfire darted overhead once more.

"Don't know," Robin socked his fist into his hand "but I can't wait to meet him"

"W-what do we do?" Mika stuttered in anxiety.

"We stop it" He replied, Then, he whipped his staff right in front of his body.

Starfire and the alien craft burst from the edge of the pier once more, and raced down. Beast Boy quickly transformed into an alligator, and tried to bite off the tentacles, but couldn't sink his sharp, deadly teeth into them. With her black, sweeping aura, Raven lifted a hefty hot dog cart from the ground and chucked it. The cart slammed into the craft, only creating a pathetic explosion that hardly stopped the alien craft from its mission. Mika quickly flipped in front of the craft, and created a brilliant shield of orange, flickering magic. His eyes widened however, once reality took over him. The craft was headed straight towards him. It looked heavy. And it wasn't stopping.

He clawed his shaky, clammy hands.

Like butter, the craft cut through the useless shield, and slammed right into Mika. He hissed under his breath and tumbled like a rag doll, before he skidded to a stop right at the edge.

"Ow…" He mumbled, as he painfully lifted himself up. He blinked in surprise as he saw a incredibly cold, pale hand in front of him. Looking up, it revalved Raven.

"What was that?" Raven asked in insult, as she lifted the sorcerer off the ground.

"My-my shield"

"I saw that. What happened?"

He anxiously pressed the tips of his fingers together and sighed "I-I got nervous. My magic is only strong if-if I'm calm and if I-I-I concentrate enough"

She released a deep, tired sigh, and touched her temples in frustration "Know your limits, then"

He quickly nodded.

"Don't know what you did to make this thing mad, Star, but it couldn't hurt to apologize!" Cyborg cried out, taking the attention of the two magical beings.

There on the edge of the pier, the dark skinned teen grumbled and growled as he struggled to pull the craft's tentacles back onto the hard, dry land. WIth each grunt, the craft scooted closer and closer to the ocean

"I am...sorry?" Starfire said reluctantly.

Cyborg yelled as the tentacles slipped out of his robotic hands and continued chasing Starfire, like it was playing a game of cat and mouse. With a growl, Robin jumped high into the air, and lifted his deadly staff above his head. With a knocking blow, he violently slammed his staff into the nose of the alien craft, sending it straight into the cold ocean

Beast Boy scratched his head "So, did we just win?"

His hopes were not realized as the craft suddenly burst through the wooden planks below, sending broken wood everywhere. The craft turned its sharp nose at Starfire, causing her to squeal and fly for what seemed like her life. Before the craft darted over the pier, Robin bravely jumped on the jerking, flying craft.

"Don't see an OFF switch…" He mumbled, trailing his eyes over the smooth as stone exterior "Guess I'll have to make one"

With a heaty fist, he slammed his hand into the craft, and pulled out a handful of wires. The alien craft suddenly sparkle violently, causing Robin to flip off in a hurry. Right when he landed in a crouch on the pier, the craft sputtered out of control high into the night sky. Right when it seemed to disappear from view, it burst from the seams and exploded into a variety of sparkly colors., blending in perfectly with the fireworks.

Robin stuffed his shrunken staff into his utility belt and walked over to the shaken Starfire "Whatever that thing was, it can't hurt you now"

"But...why did it wish to hurt me at all?"

* * *

It wasn't long before the Titans made it back to the tower, ready to hit the sack after a long, stressful night. Except Starfire

The Tamaranian burst from the door and she cheerfully danced around in circles in front of her beloved friends.

"Come, friends," She joyfully giggled "I shall thank you for my rescue by reciting the Poem of Gratitude-all six thousand verses"

Everyone just froze and in complete terror.

"I see you haven't changed a bit"

A smooth as butter and cool as ice voice rang through the room. All eyes drew behind Starfire, to a black haired teen girl who sat casually on the counter with her arms crossed. With a smirk, she psuhed herself off the couch, and pointed ever so proudly to herself.

"When we were little, I was always rescuing Starfire" She added in.

"Sister!" Starfire suddenly exclaimed in complete and utter joy. Her green eyes lit up as she nearly charged her sister, as though it as football. The black haired girl widened her eyes and wheezed as Starfire gave her a tight, warm hug.

Starfire's sister eventually pried her off, and took out a bright, beautiful green gem from her pocket "Brought you a present"

"A Centauri moon diamond?!" Starfire's eyes nearly popped out of her head at the sight of such a diamond "Where did you get-"

"On the Centauri moons, of course," She replied as she carefully tied the gem around Starfire's neck "Oh, look, it matches your eyes"

Starfire's eyes seemed to light up as bright as the gem on her neck. Suddenly, her eyes widened.

"You must meet my friends!"

Like a pet, she yanked her sister across the room "I wish to introduce my big sister" Starfire blinked in shock as her sister simply stepped forward, cutting her right off.

"Blackfire," She introduced herself matter-o-factly "And since Star told me all about the Titans in her transmissions, let me guess…"

Blackfire pointed to the dark skinned teen "Cyborg"

"Pleased to meet you, little lady" Cyborg replied cheerfully as he stuck out his arm. His eyes widened as Blackfire squeezed his welcoming hand into nothing more than scrap metal.

"Little lady, big handshake," he casually shrugged "Well alright"

With a slick grin, she moved on "Raven. I like that gemstone on your Ajna chakra"

"You...know about chakras?" Raven curiously asked.

"I got way into meditation on Altara Prime," She scoffed, before she moved down the line of Titans "Beast Boy! What's up?"

He replied with a hearty fist bump "Nothing but the ceiling, baby"

Blackfire laughed "Good one!"

Beast Boy ever so carefully leaned into Raven's ear, with a mischievous grin "See? She thinks I'm funny.

"Statistically, I suppose someone has to" the half-demon replied bluntly.

It certainly didn't make the changeling happy.

"And you must be Robin," Blackfire whipped behind the boy wonder, and lifted up his shiny, black cape "Oh, I am loving this cape. It's positively luscious!"

"Thanks. It's a high-density polymerized titanium, ten times stronger than steel" Robin explained.

Blackfire slowly leaned into his face with narrowed, curious eyes that would make any other teen his age collapse on their knees " _Fascinating_ "

In the background however, Starfire clearly noticed her smooth, cool face. A tear of nervous sweat an down her face, as she saw her sister creep closer and closer.

"And this mask makes you look very mysterious" Blackfire continued to compliment. Like brick wall, Starfire burst from the ground and stood right in between them. Robin and Blackfire widened their eyes as Starfire grabbed her sister's arm once more and dragged her away.

"There is someone I want to show you!" Starfire exclaimed, as she shoved Blackfire right in front of Mika. Inches from each others face.

It certainly made the golden skinned teen cower.

Blackfire narrowed her eyes in curiosity, as she leaned in ever so closer to Mika, as though she was attempting to study the new Titan.

"And you must be?" Blackfire asked, only causing a drop of sweat to drop off of Mika's forehead.

"It-It doesn't matter. I'm-"

He squeezed his shoulder together as Robin laid his hand carefully on him. Like a small child, he lightly brought him forward.

"This is Mika," Robin introduced "He's a bit shy"

He awkwardly waved his hand into the air, and leaned in closer to the safety and comfort that was Robin "Hel-hello"

Blackfire could only giggle and laugh at his awkwardness "You're so cute and sweet, you know that?"

Mika reluctantly let his face flush brightly "Oh, thank you"

"So, beloved sister," Starfire suddenly butted in, earning a sigh of relief from the painfully nervous teen "what brings you to Earth?"

"I was in the quadrant. Thought I'd see if Earthlings like to party" Blackfire replied smoothly as she hopped onto the couch "Besides, I needed a rest. Nearly got sucked into a black hole on the way here"

In the blink of an eye, the three most brave Titan boys rushed over to her in droves, and surrounded the alien girl like teen fanboys.

"Black hole?"

"No way!"

"Cool!"

Blackfire immediately cowered down and flawlessly waved her hands into the air "Okay. I'm cruising through the Draconis Nebula, and-"

"Sister!" Starfire exclaimed in shock "That nebula is full of black holes! You know travel there is forbidden"

The four simply looked as her with a dead, blank silence, like a little kid of decided to butt into an adult conversation. Her black haired sister however, eventually replied with a slick, smug smirk.

"Most fun things in life are. Now be a sweetie and bring me one of those sodas I've heard so much about," she asked, coming out more as a command. With that, she turned back to the ever so interested boys she got on the hook "So anyway, I'm zooming over an event horizon, approaching light speed, when all of a sudden…"

Her voice simply drained out of Starfire's ears as she dragged herself to the fridge. With a sigh, she opened the door, and searched for the earthly drink.

"I see you have not changed either…" She mumbled under her breath, just loud enough for Mika to hear. His eyes flickered with curiosity as Starfire sadly flew back to her sister, with a can of soda in hand. Those furrowed brows were unmistakeable to him. It was obvious something was wrong. It just felt wrong to him, to see his friend that way

But, he refused to move from his little safe place behind the counter. Instead, he silently walked to the door, and quietly shut it behind himself.

Starfire could probably sort it out herself.

* * *

"There"

Mika happily set his new stuffed cow on his shelf, and admired its fluffy, cute beauty. Sure, he could have simply bought it from a kids store for half of the price it took to play the carnival game, but he was proud of his achievement. As proud as a young teen male could after winning a stuffed animal could, at least.

He was also very pleased with his new room. Sure, there wasn't much furniture inside, but its beautiful, large windows that overlooked the bay made it all worth it. Even if he lacked serious shelf space. He didn't need much, really: a bed tucked in the corner, a desk that overlooked the ocean, a shelf or two that he could stuff in, and a large, circular rug that sat in the middle of it all.

He clapped his hands in satisfaction, and stared into the glowing bay of Jump City. He loved the sounds of the waves crashing into the bay, creating salty, refreshing air. Even if it stung his pale blue eyes at time.

At the sound of a loud, rapping knock at the door, he shuddered in surprise. With wide, curious eyes, he slithered to the door and carefully creaked it open. The sight of who was on the other side nearly made his knees buckle.

"Oh, uh, hi Blackfire..." Mika anxiously trailed off, letting his fingers dig into his door.

Standing just inches from him, the black haired teen put her hands comfortably on her hips and smirked swiftly.

She playfully wiggled her fingers in the air "Well, hello Mika. Are you busy right now?"

He quickly blushed in surprise, before he shook his head "No, I'm not. What did you-"

"Oh, then you won't mind if I come in, won't you?"

Mika opened his mouth to protest, but before he could even get a word out of his mouth, Blackfire confidently strutted into his messy, yet brightly lit room. His mouth continued to hang out in utter shock, causing him to freeze right in place like a statue. She simply strolled around his room a bed, before she found a comfortable space on his bed.

"This is such a nice room you have here," Blackfire complimented "I am just adoring this rug you have here. It's so luxurious"

"Um, thanks" Mika anxiously smiled back. As much liked the effort Blackfire put out to get to know her sisters friends, he couldn't quite throw out that feeling that couldn't wait for Blackfire to crawl out of his room. It was the same with Starfire too.

He frowned "I-I don't mean to be rude if anything, but what are you doing here talking to me?"

The black haired girl simply crossed her long, slick legs and smiled deeply "I can hang out with my little sister's friends, now can't I?"

"Yeah, I guess..." He muttered "I mean, I don't do much. I'm too new to the team to really contribute anything. I just...feel like I mess things up when things get tough"

With that same smirk, Blackfire sadly furrowed her eyebrows. She slowly floated up to the golden skinned boy and took his hands. Mika blinked in surprise as Blackfire softly caressed her hands, and lifted them to his chest.

"Oh sweetheart," she shook her head "You don't give yourself enough credit. Robin's told me all the amazing things you've done already"

Mika couldn't help but blush at the very needed compliment "I-I-I wouldn't say amazing..."

"You'll find your place, I just know it" Blackfire reassured with a friendly tilt of her head.

"You think?"

"I know"

With that, Blackfire dived in for what seemed like a warm, reassuring hug. Mika seemed hesitant at first when the alien girl wrapped her hands around his shoulders, but gladly took it after a few seconds. Mika smiled as he carefully dug his head into her shoulder.

Blackfire on the other hand, lost her gentle grin.

* * *

By the end of the new day, all the Titans crowded around the T.V, waiting for Starfire to crawl back on. It seemed sort of odd to them for Starfire rally them all up, excluding her sister. No one read too much into it, however.

"Friends!"

All eyes turned to Starfire. In her heads she balanced big buckets of buttery popcorn, fresh candy, and a new stack of DVDs waiting to be played.

"I invite you to join me in the togetherness of a stay-home movie night. I bring you popcorn and non-cotton candies," she lifted the items up in the air "Tell me, what sort of movie shall we view?"

"Action"

"Comedy"

"Sci-fi"

"Horror"

"Fantasy"

Starfire could only blink in shock at the advance of options that overwhelmed her, causing the food to crash to the ground "...Perhaps a double feature?"

"Forget the flicks, kids"

Starfire immediately gasped at sight that was her sister. Instead of Blackfire's usual, dark clothes, she wore her own clothes, purple and all.

"We're going out!"'Blackfire proclaimed.

"We are? Where did you-? Are those my-?" Starfire continued to stutter nonsense words as Blackfire swept past her, without so much as taking a single glance at her. Instead, she strolled casually onto the couch, and laid her hands upon it.

"Heard about a party downtown. Cool crowd, hot music" Blackfire explained smoothly.

"Yeah!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

"I'm in" Cyborg smirked.

"Why not?" Robin shrugged.

"And it's in a creepy run-down warehouse..." The black haired teen simply slid it. Raven lifted her attentive eyes from her book.

One by one, Starfire's friends walked obliviously past her, ready for a good party.

"Whoo!"

"I am a party animal"

"Heh, heh," Mika anxiously rubbed his arm "I don't know...I-I'm not good with...people"

He gasped as Blackfire clasped onto his arm and began to drag him right out. He used all his might to try to pry her hands off his wrist, but his strength couldn't match a Tameranian.

"Come on, it'll be good for you," Blackfire explained, before she turned back to her sister "Hey, sweetie, raided your closet. Hope you don't mind me borrowing your look."

With that, the Titans, including Starfire left, leaving Starfire alone with the snacks she brought for hr own party. She released a deep, tired sigh and looked down at the pile of popcorn spread across the floor.

"Why not? You have already borrowed my friends..."

It wasn't long before she caught up with the rest of her friends that the so called creepy run down warehouse. Right when she entered, the music pounded heavily in her ears. The flashing lights nearly blinded her if it wasn't for the smelly, sweaty people who surrounded her, like a pack of animals. A pack of dancing animals to be exact.

"Step aside, Earthlings, the queen of the galaxy has arrived!" Blackfire confidently strutted to the middle of the dance floor, ready to show earth what she could do.

On the other hand, Starfire was shoved and pushed around like a rag doll.

"Oh...excuse...oh...uh..." Starfire anxiously mumbled through the crowd, until a foot slammed down on her own "Ow! You really should apologize after stepping on someone's foot"

Raven just shook her head.

While the Titans moved to their own little safe side if the room, Mika was struggling to even squirm through the crowd. Sure, people shoved him aside, slammed their foots on his toes, and told him blankly to get out of the way, but he didn't say a thing. He simply huddled as close as he could to himself, and squeezed his, through.

It certainly didn't help his anxiety of social interactions one bit.

He nearly breathed a sigh of utter relief when he burst through the roof, able to breath his own non-sweaty air. Right as his smile came to his face, it was washed away. At the edge of the roof, Mika saw Starfire drearily with her face rested in her hands.

He heard a sigh from the Tamerianian "Perhaps I do not belong here after all..."

"What do you mean?" Mika rang in suddenly with curiosity. Before he knew it, he situated himself next to his friend.

Starfire put on a weak, painfully fake smile "No, all is well. I am enjoying the party my sister has invited us to"

"Oh..." Mika trailed off. He knew she was lying, it was obvious to him. Yet...if she didn't want to say anything...

She sighed, letting her false face fall "I am not enjoying anything after all. I am happy to see my sister, but I cannot help but feel sadness...and perhaps jealousy"

"Why is that?"

"She is better at being a friend than I am..."

Mika tilted his head in curiosity "I don't think so...she's nice, but she isn't you"

Starfire sighed once more, and lowered her head "That is what I am telling you. I am not her. I am nothing like her..."

The only thing Mika could do was sigh, and gently put his hand on her shoulder "It doesn't mean she's better than you. You shouldn't let that split your relationship with her, please believe me. Because when it's lost..." He dug her fingers into her shoulder "It might be too late to repair it...That's why you shouldn't be quelling on this too much. She can't replace you"

"You know much about the relationship of the sibling," Starfire mumbled "Please, tell me, do you have a brother and or sister?"

Mika frowned, and drew his hand away from her shoulder "His name is, uh, Soma. He was so kind to everyone he met, very sweet"

"What has happened to your brother"

"Oh, he...he-"

Mika jumped up as he heard a loud, terrifying squeak. He whipped his head to see nothing more than the curious boy wonder. He seemed to blink and step back a little, as though he butted in.

"Am I...interrupting something?" Robin asked, causing a big, fat tear of sweat to run down his face.

"No, no, no, no," Mika quickly defended "You're-you're fine"

"I do not think I belong down down there, so it would not matter..." Starfire mumbled.

"Of course you don't. You belong down there, having fun with the rest of us," he closed the door and stepped out to the roof "What's wrong?"

Starfire smiled once more "Nothing is wrong. Everything is wonderful. The-"

"Why don't you want to tell him the truth, Starfire?" Mika asked, furrowing his brow. She opened her mouth to protest, but sighed in defeat.

"Everything is not wonderful," She bluntly said "I am happy to see her, but Blackfire rules the video games, and she is able to share very depressing poems, and she knows the cool moves and she always knows when people are not talking about shovels. And I am nothing like her"

"No, you're not," Robin said with a weak smile "And I think-"

Suddenly, Blackfire burst from the roof. With a grin on her face, she floated happily above the roof with a small, pink wig.

Blackfire raised her brow seductively "How do I look?"

"Pink. Look, can you give us a minute here?" Robin said with an edge in his voice. Blackfire certainly didn't like that. Her mood soon changed however, as the music suddenly changed into another mood.

"Oh, I love this song!" She exclaimed. Before Robin could say a word, he was dragged right back into the party, leaving Starfire and Mika to their own devices. The golden skinned boy could only frown as Starfire collapsed back onto the edge and sighed.

Then a certain buzzing filled their ears.

Starfire slowly stood up, and scanned the night sky in curiosity.

"Huh?" She blinked.

Mika shrugged "I-"

It all happened so fast. Suddenly, the familiar alien craft snatched Starfire from the roof, causing her to scream as high as the heavens. Mika could only widen his eyes in horror as the craft darted across the sky, with his friend tight it its tentacles.

"Star-" Mika cut himself off, as he charged into the metal railing of the roof. He stuck his hand out, as though that would be enough power to send Starfire back safely in place.

Without so much as another thought, he ran across the clear roof and violently rapped on the roof, grabbing the attention of Cyborg and Beast boy, and a few other party goers.

"That thing has Starfire again!" Mika shouted through the thick glass. However, he earned a few nods in return, causing the cyborg and changeling to split off. Right as Mika stood up to his knees, Beast Boy for the door. His run for help was short lived as thick, purple tentacles burst from the door, and helplessly dragged him out.

"Whoa!" Beast Boy cried as he dug his hands into the floor "Help!"

Cyborg darted his direction, only to be cut off by yet another craft. The probe rammed into him, and nearly pinned him up against the wall.

A tear of anxious sweat ran down Mika's forehead.

He snapped his head up at the sound of screams. There he saw Starfire, using all her might to escape her confines. Right as the craft's nose dived near Mika, he threw both of his fans into the air, and flipped back. His chest nearly missed the craft by inches, as he landed right in back of himself. His fans curved around Starfire's body and cleanly sliced off the tip of the craft.

He smiled for a bit as his fans slammed back into his hands. At least until, the craft nose dived into the night club. Incompressible sounds of fear, horror, and hesitancy escaped his mouth as the craft crashed through the thick glass, taking Starfire into the wooden crates underneath.

"Starfire!" He yelled. Without hesitation, he jumped down and frantically dug his way through the broken boxes, earning a few cuts and shards of glass in his hands. He widened his pale blue eyes as Starfire burst from the boxes, throwing back like a rag doll. With narrowed eyes, she threw her violently green starbolts at another craft.

Her confidence was short lived. Beast Boy transformed into a big, angry tiger and lunged at the craft that swept him away from his feet. With a swipe of his paw, the craft violent crashed into the wall, but soon regained its balance. Right next to Starfire. Along with the two other equally power hungry alien ships.

She gasped.

With terrified, brilliant green eyes, she quickly darted away. The three crafts closely trailed her, like three serials killers after the same, innocent girl.

Cyborg jumped up and tackled one straight to the ground. He growled as they both slammed into the floor, only to let the craft wrap its tentacles around the dark skinned teen and lift him up. Before he could whip out his cannon, the alien probe threw the teen into the wall. Cyborg hissed as he crashed straight into the wall, leaving a wide, gaping hole.

Mika widened his eyes as he sent a long, magical staff straight into the probe's cone-like head, only to be swept up by a tentacle. Like a bat, he hung upside down as the craft hung tightly onto his leg. He frantically searched for his beloved fans, but it was all too late. The craft simply chucked him into the pile of broken boxes, causing him to slam nearly head first into them.

He groaned in pain as he slowly stood back up to his feet. By the time his vision returned, he saw a giant, gaping hole that revealed a dark, dimly lit alley.

Then he heard screams.

Mika frantically darted outside with the rest of the Titans, only to see a giant dumpster being lifted up high into the air by the probes. Muffled screams of desperation escaped the smelly dumpster, screams that could only belong to the Tamaranian.

"Starfire..." He mumbled in shock under his breath. Without so much as a thought, he crossed his arms and sent his fans wildly into the air. The fans banked across each other and cleanly sliced through the giant, thick tentacles of each craft. Like a giant weight, the dumpster crashed back into the ground, along with the useless tentacles of the crafts.

The fans returned back into his hands, spread out and ready for combat.

"Teen Titans!" Robin and Cyborg suddenly shouted "Go!"

Before they could even take a step, Blackfire swept and flew right past them, along with a smirk on her face. She narrowed her eyes and let thick rays of purple energy escape causing the crafts to explode on touch. Like dominos, the black haired girl took each one down, causing tentacles to fly everywhere. By the time she landed, the crafts were nothing more than scrap metal.

"Aw, yeah!" Cyborg shouted in victory, as he ran over to Blackfire "Good times!"

"That-that was amazing..." Mika nodded in agreement.

"Nice shooting, Tex" Beast Boy said with a raised brow.

"Very nice" Raven even managed to smile.

"How did you know where to hit them?" Robin asked.

Blackfire shrugged "Lucky guess"

"We could use luck like that. Maybe you oughta join the team" the dark skinned teen said.

"Me?" Blackfire gasped in disbelief "A Teen Titan?"

A horrified gasp escaped the dumpster.

* * *

"Wait you're...leaving?"

Mika could hardly believe his eyes. He could hardly believe his ears. Starfire was...leaving the Teen Titans?

In reality, Mika simply came up to the roof only to find some peace and quiet, only to find Starfire. From the Tamaranian's tired expression and a hefty backpack over her shoulder, he put one and two together.

Starfire sighed and glanced into the sunset "She will be a better Titan than I ever was"

He shook his head "I know I haven't known you for very long, but I don't believe that. Siblings should look out for one another. Sisters and brothers help each other when things get tough. That's why you'll both be great Titans"

"Then perhaps my sister is not as such when the things are tough" Starfire replied weakly. Without so much as a goodbye, she slung her back pack further up her shoulder and began to float away.

"Were you just going to leave without saying goodbye?"

The two heads snapped to Robin, who silently closed the door behind himself. Starfire slowly descended back to the roof with a large sigh, and hung her head low in shame.

"Mika, Robin, I-"

A gasp suddenly filled her throat, as a large, hovering craft suddenly leaked over the roof. On top a sat a large, tall alien, who could only glare at the confused Tamaranian. Another gasped escaped her as large tentacles surrounded and dragged her helplessly to the whip. With their target in hand, they began to swiftly fly.

"Star-" Mika was swiftly cut off by a yank of his arm. His eyes widened as Robin dragged him down the roof of the tower. Suddenly, they both leapt from the tower, and slammed straight into the large, alien ship. Muffled cries flew through the air as the two teen slug their fingers into the ship, holding on for dear life.

Mika whipped out his fans and violently stabbed them into the ship. With a steady anchor, he grabbed onto Robin's tired, straining arm and began to climb up. When they peaked up the ship, they saw Starfire, helplessly trapped in a thick, orange forcefully, surrounded by her alien captors.

"Prepare to leave Earth orbit," The slightly taller alien commanded "We have the Tamaranian girl"

"Once we return to Centauri, you will pay for what you have done" the other one snarled to the trapped Tamaranian.

"Nobody's taking her away"

Suddenly,my he Centauri aliens snapped their heads down their ship, revealing the two human boys, ready for combat. As Robin darted down the deck of the ship, Mika violently yanked his fans out of the ship.

"My friend stays here!" Mika shouted, as he crossed his arms defensively.

The Centauri roared and charged at Robin with all its might. It swung its arm at the boy wonder, missing Robin by feet. Right as it went in for another violent punch, Mika sent a straight kick down on its arm, causing it to crumble like broken concrete.

Suddenly, the other Centauri alien let a deadly later out, hitting Robin right in the side. He hissed in pain as he tumbled down the craft. Right as it seemed he would roll off and fall to his death, fingers desperate caught onto the edge of the engine. His body flinged high above the air, like a flag waiting to taken down. The alien took the time to shoot more lasers, patiently waiting for the boy wonder to fall.

Mika could feel his anxiety begin to kick in, as it always did. It seemed like whenever he was in a rock and a hard place, his concentration simply disappeared. He couldn't let that happen. Not today.

Even with the strain on time, he sighed and closed his eyes. Letting his fingers dance into the air and form his shield, he began to move across the deck. The more his fingers move, the faster he did too. Suddenly, he bolted towards the shooting Centari, and violently shoved him over. His lazer pierced through the engine, causing it to explode brilliantly.

"No!" The other Centauri shouted, as he darted towards the control panel. With a disaster in their hands, they simply forgot about the boy wonder and the sorcerer. No matter what he did, the craft made a violent descent into the ground below

"I cannot control it!" The Centauri cried.

Robin darted to the opposing control panel and pressed the button as hard as he could. In a snap, the thick shield went down, freeing the trapped Tamaranian.

"Robin!" Starfire exclaimed in glee, as Robin stuck out his hand.

"Come on!" He shouted back. With that, they both locked onto one another. Right as they were about to leave the ship, Starfire grasped onto Mika, and let him drag across from the crashing ship. Starfire landed into the safe below, as the craft crashed through the dirt and and trawled a giant cloud of dark smoke.

"Star! Mika! Robin!" Beast Boy shouted in relief as he ran up.

"You guys okay?" Cyborg asked.

Before they could answer, a loud, shrieking bang ran through their ears like nails on a chalkboard. They braced for another battle as the two Centauri aliens emerged from the dust, looking as mad and furious as ever.

"Titans! Get ready!" Robin warned with his fighting stance. Instead of a roar, a lunge, or even those lasers, he got a weapon far worse.

A...badge?

"In the name of the Grand Centauri Empire, you are all under arrest" The smaller Centauri said with ease. Everyone could only blink in utter, total shock.

"Uh..." Beast Boy anxiously trailed off "you can't be the good guys. We're the good guys"

"And we are Centauri police" the smaller alien explained.

"The Tamaranean girl is a liar and a thief," The taller officer hissed as he pointed to Starfire "She's committed high crimes throughout the entire Centauri system"

Starfire could only stare back in shock "I have never even been to the Centauri moons!"

A realization came over her and Robin. In an instant, their eyes drew to her big, green necklace. A Centauri moon diamond. From Blackfire.

Robin yanked that necklace off her as quickly as he could "But I know someone who has. You've been chasing the wrong girl. Where's Blackfire?"

"Uh..."

Beast Boy drew his finger up into the sky, revealing Starfire's sneaky big sister, flying away from her inevitable doom.

"Don't worry, Star," Robin clenched the necklace and chucked it aside like trash "She won't get away with this"

Starfire narrowed her eyes into two deadly, brilliant green holes, holes that would swallow up anything that dared to stand in her way "No, she will not!"

Before Robin could say one word, Starfire clenched her fists and darted up into the night sky. Right as Blackfire emerged from a cloud, she swiftly intercepted.

"Hello, sister.." Starfire growled.

"Aww, you're mad," Blackfire playfully pursed her lips,mas though her sisters feelings were nothing at all "I know, I should have told you I was leaving, but you know how I hate goodbyes and-"

"You are a criminal, and you were going to let me take your place in jail!"

"Oh...well...yeah"

"You will give back what you have stolen and turn yourself over to the police!" Starfire commanded as she rammed her face into Blackfire's own surprised face. That soon disappeared however.

An evil smirk crossed her face "And what will you do if I don't?"

Starfire opened her to say something, but swiftly cut herself off. As much a she wanted to give her a piece of her mind with her fists, what good would that do? It would just turn into a contest of whoever was tougher, that's all. She...she just wanted her sister. The sister she really knew when they were kids. Sure, she was always a bit pretentious, but stealing was a different story. A much different story.

 _Siblings should look out for one another. Sisters and brothers help each other when things get tough_

Blackfire only scoffed at her little sister "Yeah, that's what I thought"

With that, she looked back into the spanning night sky, and flew up. Starfire clenched her fists once more, and softened her eyes.

"Sisters are to be helpful to one another" Starfire said as she snapped her head up.

Blackfire stopped her path and glanced down "Huh?"

She flew up "Sisters are meant to protect one another. They are not meant to fight for eternity"

"And who told you that?" The black haired teen responded in a high, stinging tone "Was it that Robin of yours? Or that horribly naive Mika?"

"Why do you do this, sister? Why must you cause suffering?"

Blackfire narrowed her eyes "I do what I want, little sister. You are just my little sister, after all"

Starfire put on a weak smile, and touched her hand to her chest "I am still your sister, Blackfire. Family cannot be used liked the tools of this earth. Siblings will be there always for you. I wish the same for me"

Like a switch went off in Blackfire's mind, she went utterly silent. It was like she didn't have a cynical remark to make to her sister, nor one that cut deep through her flesh. Instead, she frowned, and crossed her arms tightly on thought.

"You wouldn't understand" Blackfire spat back, yet her eyes were defensive. Suddenly, a light bulb went through Starfire's head. Her eyes widened in realization, causing her to drop her hands back to her sides and carefully approach her sister.

"Is this about...our brother?" Starfire let the words roll of her tongue. In response, she earned a loud, terrifying growl from her sister.

"It was always about Wildfire, little sister!" Blackfire snapped "Ever since he was taken away by the Gordanians five years ago, I've been searching for him ever since!"

"But why are you sought for crimes against the Centauri moons?"

Blackfire groaned and touched her temples "Alright, I will admit I did take things that didn't belong to me, but it was the only way to get information. I thought by putting you in jail would solve that little problem for me, so I could search for him. It wasn't like you were doing anything to help"

Starfire blinked in surprise.

"Oh, don't you give me that look little sister. At least I'm trying to find him. I thought by joining that little team of yours, I could get more help but-"

"I care for our little brother!" Starfire suddenly exclaimed at the top of her lungs "Siblings help one another! I am searching for Wildfire, sister! I have always sought our little brother!"

'The why didn't you tell me?

"Because…" Starfire sighed "Because I had thought you would not care"

Blackfire floated stunned in the air. She could hardly believe the words that escaped her sister mouth. Did she really alienate her sister that much? Sure, Starfire wasn't the most...logical individual in the world in her mind, but she always had loyalty to her family, dead, alive, or missing.

"You were having such fun with my friends, so much that I thought that I was being replaced with my sister," Starfire truthfully explained "You have always showed that in the past as well"

Blackfire sighed "Did I really make you feel that way?

Starfire nodded weakly. The black haired teen released one more sigh before she began to descend. Starfire blinked in surprise as she saw her sister head for the horribly broken ship, right to the Centauri officials.

"Sister, what are you…?" Starfire trailed in shock.

"What does it look like I'm doing, little sister?" Blackfire softly hissed "I'm turning myself in"

"Will you be alright?"

The black haired teen paused in the cool, night air and turned around. Instead of a furious face, she revealed a smirk to her sister. It was a different sort of smirk however. It was much warmer and softer to Starfire. So soft in fact, it made the Tamaranian girl blush back.

"You'll keep looking for Wildfire, won't you?

"Yes, I will!" Starfire confidently shouted back as she narrowed her brilliant green eyes.

Blackfire let out a chuckle, before she began her decent back down to earth "Good bye, sister. You belong with the Titans, anyways"

"...Goodbye sister"

* * *

Morning finally grew on the Titans tower, signaling the start of a new, fresh day. Although most of the Titans stayed watery inside against the harsh morning rays of the sun, Starfire let the beams piece her skin. She stood quietly on top of the roof and sighed in silence. She glanced towards the glistening ocean, with the thought of her sister filling her mind. Because even the Tamaranian was still in shock.

"You're up earlier than usual"

Starfire blinked out of her thoughts. She slowly turned to see Robin quietly shut the door behind himself, along with a friendly grin on his face. As he approached her however, that grin soon fell.

"I had some difficulty getting rest" Starfire admitted. In a hurry, she clenched her hands together and whipped herself towards the warm sun.

Robin raised a brow "You're still thinking about Blackfire?"

"I feel sad for my sister, however, she did do the right thing. I am…relieved"

"Huh?"

"I am joyous that I was not replaced by my sister" She admitted.

"What?" Robin said in shock "Why would you even of think that?"

Starfire paused and furrowed her brow "My sister was having such a good time with you all. She did much more than I can ever do for the Titans…"

She blinked in shock as she felt a soft hand brush her shoulder. With wide, nearly innocent eyes, she stared into Robin's thin little mask. And his serious, tight lipped mouth.

"Look, you sister is good, but she's far from replacing you. No one could replace you, Star"

Robin kindly said, with a smile that seemed to outshine the bright, morning sun.

"Are you certain…?"

"Yeah, I'm sure"

* * *

 **Thank you Guest for your review!**

 **I hope you enjoyed that little twist I put (Well, I suppose big twist). I've always** **liked Blackfire, but I felt like she could do more than, well, be evil. So, after thinking for a while, I wrote this chapter with that in mind. Hopefully I gave her more dimension as a character.** **This is going to get pretty interesting when Starfire's wedding comes around...**

 **Anyways, hope you enjoyed! What** **do you think of Mika? What do you like about him? What do you dislike about him? What do you think I could improve on for him? Reviews are appreciated!**

 **\- X-Xepher-X**


	4. Final Exam

This was it. This was the end for Mika.

No matter what he did, the punches would always knock him back. No matter how much he blocked, the kicks would always slam into his body. No matter how much he fought back, not a single hit landed on his enemy.

He choked as a big fat foot pressed into his stomach. His eyes flickered wide open as he skidded across the foam floor, and crashed into the dumbbells near the wall.

"Ah..." The black haired teen groaned. He gently rubbed his back, knowing that would be sore in a couple of hours. Probably sooner.

He glanced up, and saw a familiar green gloved hand waiting for him to get back up on his feet once again.

"Are you ok?" Robin asked, with anxiously furrowed brows. Mika nodded and took his hand.

It was about time for Mika to learn real hand to hand combat. Sure, magic always helped here and there, but even he knew he couldn't always rely on it. So, being the new Titan, he had to catch up with the rest of the Teen Titans. Besides, it wasn't like he was trained traditional hand to hand combat. All he knew was block, punch, kick, then escape. He wasn't exactly used to coming back to the fight as he was running from it. Considering Robin brought Mika nearly to his knees nearly 5 times, he knew his little private training sessions would take a long time. A very long time.

Robin sighed, and shook his head in disappointment "Look Mika, I told you this already, but I'll say it again. You need to stop blocking and try to hit me"

"I-I'm trying!" Mika exclaimed in defense "But every time I try...I miss, then you try to punch and-"

"Your reading too much into it. You need to focus on a spot and aim for that. Remember the pressure points"

"But you-you always cover them! How am I supposed to hit?"

Robin responded with a groan "And another thing: you need to stop making excuses. Do you think criminals are going to let you hit them that easily?"

"No..." Mika sighed "No, they won't"

"Exactly. Track a few weak spots at a time," The boy wonder explained "If you miss, try again. Remember, less blocking, more punches. It's always a gamble. If you're not expecting to get hit, you've already lost the fight"

"I-I think I know the last part well..." Mika mumbled, rubbing his aching side again. His eyes widened in surprise as Robin carefully backed up, and went back into his fighting stance.

"Try again," Robin commanded "Just remember, aim"

Mika raised his fists hesitantly, and lightly nodded. He narrowed his pale blue eyes onto the boy wonder's open, unprotected chest. He sent a forceful, quick jab to his little insignia. Robin deflected the punch with a quick swipe of his forearm, and delivered a punch to his face. Mika's eyes widened in terror, causing him to snap up his forearms like a wall, and let Robin's relentless punches slam and make his arms as bright as a cherry and his cream colored sleeves as black as Raven's soul.

Mika winced as he took a rather strong upper cut from Robin's fist right into his elbow. Suddenly, Robin hunched down and sent a circular kick across the ground. Instantly, Mika hopped up into the air, letting Robin's shoe scrap against the mat. Without so much as a thought in his frantic head, the golden skinned teen raised his boots into the air and violently jabbed them into the boy wonder. Although Robin dodged it, Mika let his stiff body slam straight into the thin mat. He hissed as his head bounced like a ball, only to cause his thick hair to cover his face.

"Ow..." Mika muttered as he brushed his hair out of his pale blue eyes.

Robin sighed.

Right as Mika brushed off the mat dust off of his cape-like blanket, the door slammed right open, revealing the smiling, cherry Starfire.

"Hello friends!" She joyfully exclaimed.

"Hi Starfire" Mika weakly smiled.

"What brings you here?" Robin asked.

Starfire's smile seemed to twitch slightly at the question "I require your assistance. Beast Boy and Cyborg are currently in a dispute that I am unable to stop"

"Over what?" Mika questioned.

"It's probably over the T.V remote again..." Robin mumbled in disappointment. With a sigh, he nodded "Alright, let's go"

So, with a plan in mind, Starfire and Mika closely followed the boy wonder as he emerged into the common room. The first thing he saw was Beast Boy and Cyborg practically baring their teeth with angry, red faces as they screamed their heads off at each other. Starfire gasped in shock as Cyborg butted his head closer to the tiny shrimp that was Beast Boy, as though he was picking a fight with a toothpick.

"So if you want to blame someone look in the mirror, buddy!" Beast Boy violently yelled out.

Robin took hold of the situation and rushed over to the two "Whoa! Take it easy, Titans! Combat practice is this afternoon!"

"We must mend your dispute by the sharing of unhealthy junk foods," Starfire thought "I shall fetch them"

"I don't need food!" Cyborg snapped.

As Robin desperately attempted to settle their yelling contest, Mika slowly slid towards the rather annoyed half-demon. Raven let her frustrated eyes wander away from her book once in a while to observe the fight. No matter how much she concentrated, her book would just have to wait.

"How long ha-have they been searching?" Mika asked.

"Hours," Raven responded "And frankly, it's a waste of time"

"Oh..." Mika paused "You won't, um, mind if I ask you a question will you?"

The half-demon seemed to pause at that question in thought. Seconds later, she sighed, and closed her intriguing book in defeat "Go ahead. I won't be able to read with Cyborg's and Beast Boy's relentless arguing anyhow"

"How long did it take you to learn combat well enough to fight villains?"

"With concentration and practice, not very long" Raven bluntly responded "For people like Robin, it comes naturally. For people like Beast Boy...it takes constant practice. It depends"

Mika eagerly nodded "What about-"

He was cut off by a loud, ear shattering shriek that could only come from the alien teen. All went silent as eyes snapped to Starfire, who already had a bright green starbolts flaming in her hand. Suddenly, she chucked the starbolts straight into the fridge, causing its contents to explode in every little crack and crevasse in the room. Thick, blue mold splattered everywhere, from the walls, the T.V, to the absolutely shocked faces of the Titans.

Robin's eyes widened as the blue gunk slid from his mask all the way to his beloved cape.

"...Maybe we should just go out for pizza" he muttered in shock.

After countless hours of wiping and cleaning the furry, blue mold from their bodies and from the tower, the Titans finally made it to their favorite pizza joint (At least Beast Boy claims it is). So, they took an patio seat that overlooked the city and its street filled glory. Although everyone was already practically starving for lunch, it didn't stop them from arguing for the 5th hour that day.

"Can we please just order something?" Raven groaned impatiently, as she cupped her forehead into her hand.

Beast Boy nodded "As long as it's vegetarian"

"Come on, man, how can you deny me the all-meat experience?" Cyborg replied with an eager raise of his brow.

"Dude, I've been most of those animals!"

"What would you prefer, friend Mika?" Starfire asked ever so innocently.

Mika let his eyes peek out from the top of the menu "Oh, it-um, it doesn't matter. I'm fine with anything, really"

"Then I suggest a large pizza with pickles, bananas, and mint frosting" She sat joyfully in her seat with a large smile, waiting for approval. Instead of the eager nods she expected, in return she got looks of confusion and disgust.

Robin cautiously tilted towards her "Uh, Starfire? Not everything on the menu is a pizza topping"

"Oh!" Starfire blushed brightly.

"Double pepperoni!" Cyborg shouted proudly with the slam of his fists on the table.

"I'm not eating meat!" Beast Boy protested.

"There's no meat in pepperoni!"

Right as Beast Boy opened his mouth, a the sound of a tiny baby shrieking for his life filled everyone's ears. The Titans jumped up from their seats, and peeked over the ledge. There, a small, quaint baby carriage was parked right in the middle on an intersection.

With a bus hurling towards it.

"Titans! Go!" Robin commanded as he flipped off of the pizza place.

Starfire sprung into action and immediately pushed the baby carriage out of harm's way. Cyborg planted himself firmly in front of the bus as it sped towards him. Right as it was about to slam into him, he dug his metal hands into the bus, and skidded along the rough street. Raven lifted her glowing black hands, causing the wheels to screech to a stop. It's tires exploded as the giant bus finally halted to a stop, nearly feet from Raven's delicate hands.

He unclaimed his hands from the bus and ripped the door right open.

Cyborg raised a brow of total confusion "Um...don't buses normally have drivers?"

The other four Titans peeked into the baby carriage, only to reveal a small stuffed green bear with glass-like eyes.

Robin picked up the seemingly harmless bear and examined it "And don't baby carriages normally have babies?"

Mika slightly jumped as the bear's head slowly creaked towards the four titans, as though Robin's voice brought it to life.

"Are you pit-sniffers normally this stupid?" A light voice mocked through the rakers.

Screams ensued as a thick layer escaped the bear's eyes, causing all four of them to fly through the air and slam into the nearby alley, with a small trail of smoke behind them. Before Cyborg or Raven could even move an inch, the giant bus slammed right into their bodies, crushing them into nothingness. A large cloud of smoke kicked into the air, shielding the entire bus from view. Suddenly a large, muscular teen emerged from the dust, clapping his hands free from dirt with a rather sinister smirk upon his face.

A much shorter, bald teen walked on over to his pink haired, slitted eye friend and smirked as he looked at the pathetic Titans crushed by the bus "That was too easy. What a buncha cludge-heads. You guys want to get pizza?"

"This isn't over!"

The three mysterious teen's eyes snapped to Robin, as he plucked a banana peel from his head. Without warning, the bus violently shot into the air, leaving dust and dirt in its wake. By the time it all cleared, Cyborg's cannon emerged out like a sore thumb, ready to shoot anything in sight.

"We're just getting started!" The cyborg shouted with intensely narrowed eyes.

"Who are these guys?" Beast Boy questioned as he pulled himself out of the garbage tin "And what's a cludge-head?"

"We are the HIVE!" Gizmo proclaimed.

"Your worst nightmare!" Mammoth added on with a gruff voice.

"And this is Attack Pattern Alpha!" Jinx commanded.

Mammoth and Jinx scrambled for safety as Gizmo leapt high into the air and let out a rain of deadly rockets from his jetpack. The rockets spiraled and flew into the brick wall above the four Titans, seemingly drenching them in thick masonry.

Mika raised his fans protectively right above him and them slice the red bricks slice through like butter. Sure, a few pebbles smacked into his face, but it was much better than an entire wall falling on him. In panic, instead of fighting, he frantically pushed the bricks out of the way for his friends, desperately trying to free the from their prison.

Cyborg charged Mammoth and clung onto his hands. He used all his might to push the giant teen into the wall right behind him, with some luck. Instead of a fearful look on his face however, a mischievous smirk crossed his face.

"What do you call an idiot with a rocket on his back?" Mammoth said. Right then, Gizmo stuck a circular object on Cyborg's oblivious back.

"Huh?" The dark skinned teen blinked in confusion.

"Doomed!" Gizmo laughed madly as Cyborg helplessly flew into the air like the rocket stuck on his back. His crazy screams filled the city as he whipped and flew over random buildings, nearly crashing into them and becoming splatter art.

"Cyborg!" Starfire gasped in shock. In an instant, she flew off the ground and charged Cyborg all across the blue, Jump City sky.

Mika flipped his head around as he saw Raven crash into the garage bins behind him, as though she was nothing more than the trash that filled it. His eyes widened in terror as he saw the pink haired sorceress slowly approach him, swinging her head ever so playfully with a sinister smile upon her face.

"What's the matter?" She said in a sweet, mocking tone "Are you scared?"

"N-no..." Mika replied in a weak tone that betrayed his intention. He carefully backed away, yet Jinx only crawled closer. He could already feel that lump form in his throat, no matter how much he tried to stop it.

"Oh, don't' worry. This will be all over soon" The pink haired tightened her smile. With the flick of her hands, she sent a thick wave of her pink magic towards the golden skinned boy. Mika held up his hands and formed his brilliant orange colored shield, causing the energy to crash right into it. He grimaced as he slid slowly across the pavement from the force of her attack.

In an instant, he whipped out his fans and chucked them right at Jinx. With elegant flips, she flawlessly dodged his beloved fans, as they banked and urged right around her body. Before Mika could grab his fans, he widened his pale blue eyes as he was yanked right into the air. He tilted his head, only to be eye to eye with the snaggle-tooth Mammoth. 6 feet in the air and lifted up only his collar.

The big guy chuckled.

With his fans flying close behind him, he was thrown night into the like of trash cans once again, causing a couple of crinkly paper balls to roll across his chest and body.

He sighed as he brushed the excess trash and whatever filled that can from his body.

"Beast Boy!" He heard Robin yell "Hang on!"

Mika snapped his head around, only to see a giant elephant hurled right at the half-demon and boy wonder. Right when it seemed Beast Boy would crush them under their weight, he quickly transformed back into a human. His helpless, thin body slammed right into air on, causing them both to roll and skid across the rough pavement.

"Is it me, or are we getting our butts kicked?" Beast Boy asked as he lifted himself off the ground.

"Um, er..." Mika's words twisted in his mouth, as though they refused to say the truth.

"It's just you" Robin and Raven bluntly both said.

Robin sighed as he brushed dirt from his shoulders "Listen up, team. I have a plan"

A few seconds later and a plan, all except Robin fled to the nearby alley, leaving Robin alone in the middle of the street. Although he was solo, he felt confident enough. No, he _was_ confident enough.

"Gee, scrum-buffer. Sure hope your fancy plan includes getting fried!" Gizmo shouted with an evil smirk.

"You'll just have to find out the hard way" Robin narrowed his eyes, as he took his firm, fighting stance. With a confident smirk, he flicked his fibers towards him. Although no words were said, it was clear enough what his intention was.

Bring it on.

Gizmo laughed as he released a thick, deadly laser towards the ground. On contact, the pavement began to slowly diminish, leaving a small, long crack. Jinx suddenly leapt into the air and threw her pink magic to the crumbling ground. The pavement shook violently as it began to dangerously cave in like a small, deadly valley to nothingness. With a force of a giant earthquake, Mammoth hopped into the air and slammed his beefy fists violently into the fragile pavement. The ground finally gave up and began to fall apart into the darkness below it in large, thick chunks.

Robin ran for his life as the dangerous cracks followed him. No matter how fast his legs could carry him, he was no match for the cracks. With a forceful step, the ground crumbled like a sugar cookie below him.

"ROBIN!" Mika yelled in terror. His eyes blinked wide open as Robin's screams filled his ears. In a blink of an eye, he disappeared into the darkness below, consuming him and whatever the ground brought down with him.

"Mika, wait!" Raven pleaded, but it was too late. Mika blindly darted to the edge of the giant chasm

"Mika, wait!" Raven pleaded, but it was too late. Mika blindly darted to the edge of the giant chasm, and skidded nearly inches from his own demise. Right as his pale blue eyes peered into the dangerous darkness below, his heart dropped. He clenched his chest in fear and slowly crept back, causing a few pebbles to plink into the water below.

"No, no, no, no…" The golden skinned teen mumbled over and over and over again, until his mind and body were consumed by the simple two letter word.

"I hope you enjoy the darkness, because that's where you're going" Jinx's sinister voice slithered into his ear.

Everything happened so fast.

In one, simple, yet unthinkable movement, Jinx flawlessly shoved the afraid teen on the shoulder, and sent him into the chasm below. His hand reached out far in front of his body, yet useless in his descent into utter blackness

Although Mika wanted to scream for his life, only a pathetic choke escaped his throat. His wide eyes saw as the blue sky became smaller and smaller until it was all but taken over by the shadows and darkness of the sewer water.

Then everything went black for him.

"MIKA!"

* * *

"ROBIN!"

Mika snapped his upper body up faster than lightning, and panted like the wind. His voice echoed throughout the dank, dark alleys that were in fact the sewer. His small heart seem to beat out of control as he frantically scanned around his new surroundings.

Dark tunnels drenched in stale water surrounded him. Filthy water rushed by his fingertips flowed down the tunnel, until it disappeared yet again into the darkness. With his surroundings sort of clear, his breaths slowed to a reasonable pace, until he could hear his own heartbeat pounding in his chest.

"Eh..." Mika mumbled as he rubbed his hands through his head "How long was I out?"

With nothing but the echoes of his voice replying, grunted to his feet, and began to wander around. He held up his hand and created his orange glowing, magical staff, softly lighting his surroundings. He seemed to shrivel up as soon as the dank tunnel truly revealed itself to him.

"Ah!" He gasped, as a beefy rat skittered past his feet. Although Mika didn't get a close look at the little ugly vermin, its missing ear and patchy fur said enough to him. He shriveled up closer into his body, rubbing furiously on his arms and hunching over as he crept through the giant tunnel. He rammed his magically made staff down his sleeves, making it a little flashlight.

"I should try and find Robin..." He thought aloud. That would have been the best idea, in his opinion. Not only would he find safety, he would accomplish the thing he was probably shoved down into the sewers for. Yet...

He glanced up to the curved ceiling "Or should I try to get out of here?"

He wondered how long the rest of his friends spent searching for him and Robin, if they did at all. For all he knew, The Hive Five, or whatever they were called, could have beaten his friends to a pulp. They surely beat him bad even before he was shoved into the sewer. Countless random scenarios rolled through his mind, even though only a handful of those were actually possible.

In an instant, Mika shook his head and tried to kick those horrid thoughts out of his head.

"No, no they probably found Robin. No, he probably found a way out of here," the golden skinned boy said semi-confidently to himself "I should find my way out before it gets too dark...unless it's already night..."

With a sigh, he whipped out his magic-made staff right in front of him, and let it lead the way through the maze that was the sewer.

"I wonder if my friends are still searching for me..." Mika continued to strike a conversation with himself, causing his voice to echo "I don't know how long I was knocked out, so they may have stopped. Even so, one of them could still be looking. Unless...they just gave up on me..."

He clenched his fist tighter into his magical staff, staff, and bit his lip to cease his mouth from spitting out even more self-deprecating words. Those words seemed to come naturally to him, like they were built right into him the moment he was born. He knew that was impossible, of course, but they were as real as his skin and flesh was.

"Or-"

He took another step and realized his mistake. His giant mistake. Instead of the safe, thin concrete that lined the side of the sewer, all he stepped to was into air.

Then water.

A horrid gasp escaped his throat as he crashed right into the grey colored water, immediately drenching him. Like a violent river, his head bobbed right above the waves as he was wept clean away. His desperately clawed hands reached and shot out for the sides, yet they were all out of reach. Clean out of reach from the fast river that was the sewer.

He tried to frantically mumble, yell, scream, anything that would make noise, but his voice was silenced each time his head was swallowed right back into the sewer water. It was an endless, hopeless cycle that only dragged him further and further into the depths of the sewer, far away from his target of escape.

Mika released a muffled cry as his body slammed into the side of the hard, wet concrete, dipping his head briefly underwater again. His fingers frantically reached for the ledge that separated him from his doom and safety, yet each time, his fingers would simply slam into the side be shaved against the rough concrete like sandpaper.

In a wave on inspiration, he furiously fumbled through his pocket and pulled out his soaked, dripping fan. His pale blue eyes widened as big as dinner plates as the fan hopped and bounce around in his clumsy hands like a hot potato. When he finally gripped tight on it, he unfurled its glory and stabbed it cleanly into the concrete side of the ledge. In an instant, he jerked to a stop, letting his body flow a faint the river like he was a windsock on a wispy day.

He panted frantically as he crawled up the ledge and into the safe, dry land. He didn't bother to move at all, instead, he simply laid on the cold hard ground, reviewing the incredibly stupid mistake he just committed in his head. The very idiotic mistake he made.

When he finally caught his breath, he brought up his dripping, wet body up, and began to wring out his clothes. Although his normally wavy, black hair sat more on his head like a mop when it was soaked in water, he didn't care. Well, as much as he did about his now cold, wet clothes,

"Eh..." Mika shivered as he violently twisted his soft blue cape like blanket, letting a river of water to drip back into the sewer. He shook his head like a dog until his hair was manageable enough to brush it out of his face and not have it stick to his already wet body.

Suddenly, he gasped at the sound of a high pitched squeak. On instinct, he whipped out his fan and cleanly threw it straight to the ground. By the time the golden skinned teen looked to the ground, he scrunched up his nose in disgust. There on the ground, a rat's tail was clearly cut off by his fan. Like a pink string of flesh, it twitched and flicked around as a puddle of blood poured out.

A disgusted noise escaped his throat as he reached out for his fans and quickly soaked it into the river, wiping the blood clean off. Sure, the tail still twitched and moved, but it was better than leaving his fan right next to it. Speaking of his fan...

He reached into his other pocket and gasped.

"No, no, no, no, no..." Mika mumbled faster and faster as he furiously dug into his empty pocket for his now non-existent other fan "Again?!" He hissed.

He snapped his frantic head towards the deep sewer water. Without so much as a thought, he dived back into the cold, grey water and swam around for his beloved fan. When he reached the end of the river with no fan, all that was there was a thick, small holed filter, too small to swallow the fan up.

He frantically hopped in from the water, and crawled back onto the large, concrete area. He quickly shook as much water as he could from his body, and desperately scanned around. His thoughts were simply jumped up as much as the swinging tides of the sewer water was.

"What should I do, where should I go, where should I search?" He feverishly mumbled, frantically glancing around his dark, dismal surroundings "Where's my fan?"

"Looking for this?"

A smooth, velvety invaded Mika's ears, like a parasite. His widened, pale blue eyes slowly drew what was once darkness. Instead of the black shadows, a tall, muscular man sat contentedly there. Although he was dressed in silver and black colored combat uniform, that wasn't the man's most stunning feature. His face was nothing more than a black and orange mask, split right in the middle to separate his empty face and his one sliver of an eye.

Although only his dark eye was visible, Mika couldn't help but get shivers from how...empty it was.

Mika's mouth opened his shock as he saw his precious black and gold fan, spread out within the one eyed man's thick hand. It was like it was sitting there, mocking him to retrieve it. Even if it was mocking him, Mika already knew he has to get it back one way or another.

The scared teen hesitantly nodded, and backed up defensively "W-who are you?"

"That question is not relevant at this point in time," the one eyed man said "Your not the Titan I was looking for, unfortunately"

"I'm...sorry?"

In a snap, the man stuffed the small fan into his belt "But, perhaps I could draw him out, by fighting the likes of you" he seemed to glance uninterestedly towards the golden skinned boy, as though he was full of disappointment as his catch.

"What do-do you mean?" Mika stuttered, obvious fear within his voice "You're searching f-for Robin, aren't you? I-I can't let you do that, you know"

"Mika, was it?" The man questioned to himself "I'm certain you know what to do if you want this folding fan of yours back in your hands"

He swollen a thick lump in his throat, and raised his fist "I do..."

"Good boy"

Mika gasped as the man's thick, heavy foot swung right at his head. He quickly snapped his back down, letting the man's foot hover ever so dangerously inches from his face.

He whipped out his fan and jabbed it freely into the air, as though he was attempting to cut off the one eyed man's leg clean off. In a flash, the masked man yanked his leg away, and sent a mighty, lightning fast punch. Spit fell from Mika's mouth as the punch slammed right into his unprotected stomach, and sent him to the ground. Before he could cough and catch his breath, another feisty fist snapped his head violently to the side, causing his body to slid pathetically across the concrete.

The frantic golden skinned teen crawled up the wall back to his feet, only to see the masked man hold his fan mockingly in the air.

"I must say, I'm disappointed in your skill," The one eyed man said in a smooth, buttery tone "I was beginning to think you had more potential"

"I-I don't care what you think..." Mika replied in a weak, uncertain voice "Gi-give me back my fan"

"Then fight" the one eyed man hissed clearly.

Mika narrowed his eyes and held up his forearms, forming a strong, glimmering shield. Without so much as a plan, let alone a thought in his head, he charged the man. His pale blue eyes widened as the man flipped ever so flawlessly into the air and landed in a crouch right behind him. He sent his a roundhouse kick across the ground, sweeping the sorcerer off his feet. He clenched his teeth as his head slammed into the pavement, causing his once protective shield to disintegrate into nothingness.

Right as the masked man raised his forearms and sent them towards the scared teen, Mika crossed his forearms and formed magical, glowing knifes right into his hands, blocking the dangerous attack. Before he could send another attack, Mika quickly flipped his body away from the one eyed man's grasp and jumped back onto his feet.

Attacking mindlessly wasn't working for Mika, he knew that week enough after his brain felt like it slammed into his skull. He had to think of a plan, and fast. Although his body was nearly immobile, his mind was acting much differently.

Then he remembered Robin's words.

 _"You need to focus on a spot and aim for that"_

Mika drew his pale blue eyes to the man's waist, where his fan sat, and carefully pointed his magically made knifes towards that spot.

"Aim for that..." He mumbled quietly to himself.

In an instant, he whipped out his remaining fan and curled it around his body, spinning freely like a top. He violently sliced it through the air, and let it fly towards the masked man. The man, without as so much as turning his head, flawlessly took a step, missing the deadly, sharp fan by inches.

Mika raised his free hand up high in the air, causing the man to instantly tightly duck, letting the fan fly freely over his masked head. His one solitary eye seemed to fill with emotion as Mika sliced his foot right into the masked man's head, causing it to snap like a twig to the side. By the time he stood up and snapped his head back in place, Mika let his fan fly back into his hand, and began to slice his dangerous, magically made knifes towards the one eyed man.

The fear and terror that was once on his face disappeared, as he looked directly as his fan and sliced his glowing knifes right at the masked man. All that filled his face was a blank, studying stare that only had one mission in mind. And it was to get his fan back.

The masked man sent a hook jab towards the golden skinned bit, along with an uppercut. Mika glued together his forearms and blocked each attack, causing him to jerk and stumble back. Suddenly, he lunged at his fan, send his hand to quickly fly at the masked man's belt.

Then he gasped.

In seconds, the man clamped onto his arm, and dug his giant, rough hands into Mika's thin flesh. The golden skinned teen hissed as the man slammed him into the wall, causing his body to bounce off of it like a rubber ball. Before he could truly bounce off however, the man clenched onto his small, structured shoulders and slammed them back into the wall. Mika kicked and struggled for his life as the man slowly lifted him up into the air, as though he was nothing more than a useless rag doll waiting to be torn apart. Mika desperately gripped onto the man's arms, yet it did little to nothing to stop his shoulders from being crushed to dust.

"As I thought," The one eyed man smoothly whispered "You're not the Titan I desire. Robin is"

"What...what do you want with him?" Mika choked out, as he dig his fingers deeper into the man's uniform.

"I want many things that only he possess, boy. Unfortunately for you, he's not coming to fetch his project. He left you behind" the one eyed man bluntly said.

"That's-that's not true!" Mika protested, even if obvious doubt crept into his voice "Robin is-"

"He's not coming," The man hissed in Mika's ear "And since he's missing, I want you to send a message for me"

"I-I-I-" Mika stumbled, his mouth refusing to form. His pale blue eyes widened as the man drew his beefy hands away from his shoulders, and clamped onto the sorcerer's weak, frail neck. He gasped for precious sale air as the man seemed to crush his windpipe.

"Perhaps I should rephrase that," The man titled his masked head curiosity "You will send a message for me, Mika. When the time comes, he will meet Slade. The game has begun, Robin"

The only thing Mika could do was cling onto the man's hands around his neck and furiously try to yank them off. No matter how hard he pulled, no matter how hard he kicked, no matter how loud his croaks were, nothing would save him. His life was all in the hands of the one eyed man. He knew it would end this way, because why would someone like him deserve saving?

Then a familiar red, sharply curved weapon dug into the wall, inches from Mika's whiter face.

The one eyed man seemed to loosen his grip and straighten his back. Although Mika didn't see much emotion from the one eyed man's little peep hole, he read it well enough.

This was...not part of the plan.

"Let go of my friend, or else," Robin emerged from the darkness, as his cape flicked right behind him. With narrowed eyes, he defensively held a few charges within his hands.

Suddenly, Mika glued his feet together, and slammed them into the one eyed man's stomach. His single eye seemed to widen briefly in surprise as he stumbled back, letting Mika to fall freely to the ground. Before he could catch his breath, Mika ducked and rolled across the ground, snatching back his fan in the process. The black haired teen stumbled as he jumped back to his feet, until he crashed into the wall and held his aching throat, right beside Robin.

"Robin, your-"

Mika squeaked in fear as Robin clamped onto his arm, and began to drag him away.

"I'll tell you later. Let's go" Robin commanded, before he yanked Mika freely out of sight. The last thing Mika saw before darkness consumed him once more was the masked man's narrowed, solitary black eye.

It looked angry.

Out of sight, Mika yanked his arm from Robin's grip and ran closely behind him.

"I-I'm glad you're alright, Robin," Mika panted "I really am"

"I'm glad you're fine too Mika," Robin responded, with it looking back to Mika "We'll talk about this later. Our first priority is getting out of here"

"You know a way out?"

Robin nodded "Follow me"

So, Mika followed to boy wonder around a few curves and bends of the sewer, until they reached a spot with small spots with glimmering light. He glanced up and smiled at the sight. It was a pothole, ready to be used and thrown aside to sea or into the clean, fresh air.

"Have you tried contacting the team?" Robin asked as he gripped onto the metal latter and climbed up.

"No, my communicator wasn't working, it shorted out so something. I-I think I fell into the water before I woke up," Mika shrugged "I hope they're doing alright"

"They are" he assured, as he punched open the pothole. The pair slowly emerged from the darkness that was the sewers into the fresh, clean air of Jump City.

Mika simply nodded in response, and twiddled with his thumbs in thought. Sure, he was happy enough not having the life choked right out if him, but he still felt the one eyed man's hands wrapped around his frail throat. He still saw the emptiness within his black, soulless eyes as his hand only gripped tighter around his neck. And those words, those chilling words...they wouldn't disappear from his mind anytime soon.

"Robin, you know the man who...attacked me?" Mika hesitantly brought up.

"What about it?" Robin responded "Are you alright?"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah, I'm fine, but...he knew your name"

Mika's eyes widened as Robin halted to a stop, causing him to nearly crash into the boy wonder. He paused, and whipped his head around, revealing a blank look within his slightly paled face.

"What do you mean he knew my name?" Robin asked, with a slight edge on his voice.

"He-he said he was looking for you," Mika anxiously explained "He used me as bait to attract you, I guess. It was like he's been watching us. He...also had a message he wanted me to say to you"

Robin suddenly stomped Mika, causing the teen to shudder in response "What did he say? Tell me"

Mika sighed "He said when the time comes, Slade will come looking for you"

"Slade..." Robin let the name roll of his tongue,as though the name itself invited distrust "Anything else?"

"The game has begun"

"...Mika, I don't think this is the last time we'll see of that man. This is only the beginning of this 'Slade'"

* * *

"NOOOO!"

A deafening scream filled the common room, like a cry for mercy. However, it wasn't exactly for death, but rather the death of Beast Boy's precious collection of CD's.

After Robin and Mika made it back to the tower, it wasn't long before they ran back into to the Hive Five. In fact, they took over the entirety of the Titans tower, like a trophy to their victory. At least until the team as a whole straighten them out and kicked the three to the curve. However, what made Robin suspicious was the mention of Slade once more. With no more leads however, he had no choice but to drop it. For now.

"This is the worst thing that could ever happen!" Beast Boy cried, ready to pull his green hair right out if his green skull "My tunes! They've been...alphabetized"

Mika slowly approached him as CD's began to fly around his head like frisbee's. He could only watch in anxiety as Beast Boy chucked the flat donuts of plastic like his own fans.

"How am I ever gonna find anything?!" Beast Boy yelled.

"Um..." Mika opened his mouth, bit immediately closed it as he felt a rush of cold air shiver through his veins.

Raven walked down the stairs, with her cloak tightly within her icy, cold hands "They went into my room. No one should ever go into my room"

"Someone has disposed of all our blue furry food!" Starfire gasped from the fridge.

"You gotta be kidding me!" Cyborg yelled, as he effortlessly lifted the couch up with one hand "The whole place gets cleaned and I still can't find the-"

A short, high pitched whistle caught his attention like a loyal dog, causing the dark skinned teen to snap his head up. There, he saw Robin, smirking as he pointed to the coffee table. Cyborg grinned as his eyes drew to the thing he was desperately searching for. The T.V remote.

"Ha!"

Happy and satisfied, Cyborg and the rest of the team plopped on the couch, as Robin began to flip through the channels.

"I guess we really oughta be training for battles and tracking down clues, huh?" Cyborg shrugged.

"And figuring out more about Slade" Mika added.

"We will," Robin assured "But right now, I'm just happy to be part of the team"

"May we watch the World of Fungus?" Starfire eagerly asked.

"..."

* * *

 **Thank you guest for your review!**

 **For a while, I didn't know what or how to write for this chapter. So, when I figured out what I wanted to do, it was pretty fun!**

 **Just a warning, I may have irregular updates in the future. I'm starting college in a week. I would rather just say this right now than wait, just in case you see an update in a couple of weeks on a Tuesday or something. I'll update on the situation on my profile when I actually start school. Thank you to all of you who followed and favorited, and I hope you stick by for the time being.**

 **Hope you enjoyed! Reviews are appreciated!**

 **\- X-Xepher-X**


	5. Forces of Nature

It was a dark, thunderous night at Titan tower.

A kind of day where the dark clouds circled around the city, and bright lightning danced on the tops of buildings. Even with this strain on the clouds, not a drop of water left the sky and pound into the city. This certainly left Mika scratching his head.

In the kitchen, he continuously stirred a big pot of vegetables and meat as he watched the outside world. He decided to take on cooking duties, not only because it looked like it would be pouring outside, but also it was relaxing (Starfire tried to volunteer, but she was shot down in a heartbeat). So, without a thought in his head and a smile on his face, he continued to stir and cook whatever he concocted. For the first time in a while, he was alone and content.

At least until Beast Boy burst through the door.

"Mika!" The green skinned teen shoved the door on, and darted into the room. A little squeal escaped the golden skinned teen in utter shock, causing his arms to scrunch up to his body.

"Y-y-yes?" Mika stuttered, as his shaky hands slowly turned down the stove heat.

"I need you for something," Beast Boy clamped onto his arm "Come on!"

"I-ah!"

Before he could say another word, Beast Boy yanked the helplessly teen and dragged him far into the depths of the tower. When Beast Boy shoved him into the last corner, Mika blinked in surprise.

"Um...what is this?" Mika asked anxiously, eyeing a contraption that filled the hallway. It seemed like he went crazy with the string and lined it across the windows, until it reached a giant, metal look, suited more for fishing than what Beast Boy had in store.

"Ok, ok so you remember when Cyborg put red dye in my shampoo and turned me brown for a couple of days?" Beast Boy asked.

"I think so..." Mika thought, vague remembering a brown, screaming Beast Boy.

He mischievously laughed "Well now Cyborg is gonna get a taste of his own medicine!" The green skinned teen kicked the rope a couple of times, yet the hook refused to move "If this thing would work..."

"Oh, you want my help?" Mika realized "You-you could of asked someone more capable of this. I'm sure Starfire could be of better help"

Beast Boy scoffed "Hey, dude, I asked you for a reason. It's now friends work"

Mika, obliviously taking his word, naively nodded and trailed his eyes over the odd contraption. He lifted up the string on the ground a few times, until he found the problem area.

"I think you need to tighten this strand of string, near the window" Mika pointed up. In an instant, Beast Boy transformed into a bat and flapped up to the problem area. Seconds later, he jumped back to the floor, hiding a excited little chuckle.

"Try-" Beast Boy chuckled "Try now"

On command, Mika quickly kicked the rope. As Beast Boy hoped, rubber band around the hook snapped like a twig.

"He, he, he," Beast Boy chuckled as he disappeared behind the hallway. Moments later, he emerged with a hefty balloon, filled with some kind of dark liquid "This is gonna be so sweet!"

"What is...in there?" Mika anxiously asked, as a drop of sweat ran down his face.

"Just a little motor oil," The green skinned teen said ever so mischievously "When this splatters Cyborg, he's not gonna prank me anymore! This is gonna be so sweet!"

"Um..."

"What are you doing?" A voice shockingly chimed in.

Beast Boy squealed, causing the balloon to nearly leap out of his hands. Mika jumped in surprise, causing him to bump Beast Boy into the wall. Even with all the chaos, the green skinned teen amazed to catch his precious oil filled balloon.

Raven sighed, walking forward "Please tell me this isn't another ridiculous prank"

"Okay. It's not a ridiculous prank. It's a brilliant one!" Beast Boy laughed like a little school girl. Without a definite answer, she drew her eyes to the unsuspecting Mika.

"It's-it's another prank" Mika admitted.

"Alright, check it out. 'Member how Cyborg put red dye in my shampoo and I turned brown for two days? Well, sister, it's payback time!" Beast Boy exclaimed, as he set his balloon into his brilliantly planned trap "I give you...the Beast Boy Insta-Lube 9000!" See, when Chrome-Dome steps around the corner, the lever releases the mother of all rubber bands, which sends a balloon-load of motor oil flying right at him, and BOOSH! Pretty clever, huh?"

"You're a genius" Raven replied in an uninterested tone.

"I-I'm still not very sure about it..." Mika nervously added in "Don't you think this is a little...excessive?"

Beast Boy scoffed and waved his hand in the air "It's just a little good clean-dirty fun"

His pointy ears perked up at the sound at a creaking door. With a wide grin on his face, he grabbed onto Raven and Mika, and whisked them to the edge of the hallway.

"Here he comes!" He whispered with a little chuckle.

"I do not think-" Raven was about to add in, before Beast Boy cut her off like warm butter against a hot knife.

"Shhh!" He hissed

"But what if-" Mika was cut off

"Shhh!"

"...Why are we hiding?" Another voice asked. A certain voice that shouldn't have been there.

"Shhh!"

In an instant, he froze in absolute terror. Realizing the voice, Beast Boy's eyes snapped wide open. With a squeal, he curled up into a ball, and practically rammed a hole through the wall.

"Cyborg?!" Beast Boy exclaimed in shock "You can't be Cyborg!"

Cyborg, the link that should have been pranked, furrowed his brows in disappointment "I can't?"

Beast Boy anxiously pointed to the hall "If you're you, then who's...?"

With the sound of footsteps, he peeked his head from the side of the hallway. The very sight of his target made his eyes as wide as dinner plates.

There, Starfire obliviously walked through the hall, without a care in the world. Without as so much as a reaction, her foot cut through the rope, triggering the prank of all pranks. Everything from there went so fast for Beast Boy. The strings pulled, the hook moved, the rubber and snapped, and worst of all, the ballon shot through the air.

Beast Boy leapt from the corner and darted over to the crime "NOOOOOOOO!"

It was too late. The only sound that escaped Starfire was a squeal. The ballon smacked into her face, drenching her in thick, black oil.

"Starfire!" Beast Boy cried, finally catching up to the naively pranked alien teen.

Starfire's brilliant green eyes blinked through the oily mess "This is punishment? I did something wrong?"

"You didn't," Raven pointed to the green skinned prankster "He did"

"Star! It was...you weren't supposed to..." Beast Boy stumbled, trying to think on an excuse. Then his ever so mischievous green eyes drew right to the oblivious golden skinned teen. Then an idea popped in his head.

"It was Mika's idea!" Beast Boy jabbed his accusing finger at Mika.

Mika blinked in surprise "...Huh?"

"Yeah, you wanted to do all of this cause, cause he's never pranked someone," Beast Boy slowly turned to Mika with a friendly wink "Right, Mika?"

"Uh..."

"Friend Mika, is this true?" Starfire asked naively. Mika was taken aback for words. He looked at Raven and Cyborg for answers, but all they could do was shake their heads, even if it was towards Beast Boy. All Mika could do was hang his mouth open, hoping words would jump in and save him. But then he remembered the words Beast Boy him. He had to be a good friend.

So, he hesitantly faced the oil drenched Starfire "Y-yes. Curiosity must-must have gotten the better of me. Heh"

Starfire seemed to pause for a second, before her eyes began to narrow. Like a Rabin wildfire, her rage grew bigger and bigger, until she towered over the terrified sorcerer "On my planet, we have a name for those who do such terrible things. You are a...a...CLORBAG VARBLERNELK!"

"I'm...sorry?" Mika managed to croak.

"You heard the lady," Beast Boy pat the innocent Mika on the shoulder "You're such a clorbag. Ok, I just gonna go now"

Like the wind, Beast Boy rushed out of the hallway, escaping the rage and awkwardness. Or, so he thought.

"Beast Boy…" The half-demon nearly hissed in his ear. With an awkward, uncomfortable laugh, he hesitantly turned around, only to see Cyborg and Raven with their arms crossed behind him. They didn't looked pleased.

"Hey guys…" Beast Boy anxiously chuckled "How are you?"

"You gonna do something about that?" Cyborg asked with a raised brow.

"About what?"

Before anyone could mutter another word, a giant lighting strike flashed through the window. Along with a particular word that caused all the Titans to freeze.

"Titans!" Robin called.

* * *

Vivid lightning and loud thunder shook the bridge, rocking every little soul on the bridge. Although the Titans only stumbled onto the bride only minutes ago, the wreckage was already obvious. And by the looks of everything, they knew the exact source.

"Hate to break it to you…" Robin began, as he peered down from a truck onto the two brightly dressed brothers. Thunder and Lightning quickly glanced at each other, before they blinked up to the team, "but you guys have a lousy sense of humor! This ends-now!"

Lightning suddenly narrowed his eyes and clenched his fist, causing yellow energy to erupt "No one gives orders to Thunder and Lightning! Taste my power!"

With a strong throw, the ball of electricity left his hand and darted towards the team. Right as the Titans jumped off, the ball of lightning hit the truck leaving a mangled hole behind on the truck. Starfire began to shot her starbolts high on the air, causing Lightning to shoot his powerful balls of electricity back. With a smirk, he threw a giant, yellow bolt right at his target, taking her down in a flash.

He took a quick look at his brother, punched and fought the dark skinned teen. He nearly laughed in fun as Thunder punched Cyborg right in the fist, sending an earth shattering boom that shook the bridge once more. His fun ended, however, Mika tackled him straight to the ground.

He took a quick look at his brother, punched and fought the dark skinned teen. He nearly laughed in fun as Thunder punched Cyborg right in the fist, sending an earth shattering boom that shook the bridge once more. His fun ended, however, Mika tackled him straight to the ground.

The golden skinned teen rubbed his palms together, causing his elegant, orange shield to disintegrate within his palms. He let a squeal escape his throat as a rumbling growl filled his ears. Suddenly, the angered Lightning jumped to his feet, and let a large ball of electricity form within his hands.

"You shall pay for that!" Lightning exclaimed. With a loud battle cry, he swung his hand and let his ball of lightning dart from his hands. Mika quickly made a swift back flip to the side, causing the ball of crash into a nearby car and demolish the hood into nothingness.

He quickly pulled out his hands and chucked them into the air. Right as lightning was about to let electricity firm onto his hands, the fans quickly slid across his palms like butter. The yellow skinned teen widened his eyes in surprise as his energy was briefly cut off from him, like someone pulled the switch on his powers. Before he could regain lightning within his hands, Mika violently swung his leg, and slammed his foot right into Lightning's unprotected chest. In one big huff, Lightning crashed straight to pavement.

Right as Mika was about to stab through Lightning, he quickly rolled to the right and jumped back to his feet. He swung his entire body like a top and released another giant, pulsating ball of electricity, letting it fly at the golden skinned teen.

Mika widened his eyes, causing him to yank his arm right in front of him, his fan his only protection. Like butter, the electricity split in two separate entities, and swam around the sorcerer. But, little did Mika know, lightning didn't work that way.

Like a million daggers pierced through his skin, the lightning struck the golden skinned teen. A loud howl pierced through Lightning's ears as that sweet electricity crawled through Mika's vines, and stabbed every little nerve until he finally collapsed onto the ground in defeat. His hands dug into his head as he curled up into a pathetic ball, pleading for all the horrid pain to stop.

And Lightning laughed. He laughed like the world was on fire. He laughed at how pitiful Mika looked. That's what Mika thought in his soupy little brain.

"Ha!" The yellow skinned teen laughed with a mischievous smirk "Your powers are strong, but mine are stronger!"

Mika slowly unfurled from his ball, and weakly glanced up to the proud Lightning's shirt. He blankly stared at it, desperately trying to piece together his thoughts.

"Now, I command you rise, magical one," Lightning let his hands glow strongly, "This battle is very thrilling"

"Wh-what is amusing about any o-of this?" Mika finally asked, yet refusing to meet Lightning's eyes.

Lightning raised a brow "You dare question my actions?"

"W-why is pain funny t-to guys like you? I...I don't think I'll ever understand that..." Mika trailed off, letting his eyes wander off into the ocean.

"Pain does not amuse us!" Lightning defended.

"It seems it does. You didn't laugh at me for nothing "

The yellow skinned teen paused, letting those words sink into his mind. Seconds later however, he seemed to have thrown out those hurtful words out of his mind, and embedded them into his bright, electric fist.

"Silence!" Lightning shouted angrily. With a uppercut, he sent his painful first straight towards Mika's stomach. Mika quickly pulled out his fans and crossed them over his body, acting as a shield. The force however, sent him to skid across the rough pavement like wood on sandpaper. By the time he stopped, Lightning and Thunder leapt on little clouds and flew away from the scene of the crime.

"Ah..." Mika groaned and crawled back up to his feet. He blinked as Starfire slowly flew past him, refusing to meet his pale blue eyes. All she could do was hold her arms tightly and float last by the frazzled Mika, as though the two were just strangers.

"Are you alright Strafire?" Mika asked.

Starfire simply gave him a glare, before she snapped her head away from him "Hmph!"

He frowned "I'm sorry Starfire. I really am"

"Your apology is not wanted right at this point in time. You are a clorbag varblernelk" With that, she quickly flew ahead.

"Oh..." With a sigh, he rubbed his arm and glanced towards the ground. The sound of incoming foot steps hardly stopped his rather gloomy concentration towards the ground.

"So...I'm guessing she's still mad?" Beast Boy slowly snuck up beside him. It felt only right for him to check up on sorcerer, considering he was the one who caused the mess. He didn't feel guilty enough to tell Starfire the truth, however.

Mika weakly nodded "I wonder how long sh-she'll keep this up. I-I really don't like lying to her like-like-like this"

Beast Boy immediately scoffed and wrapped his arm around his shoulders, trying to protect his little secret "Pfft. Cheer up man!"

The golden skinned boy weakly smiled and nodded "You're right. Before I know it, this'll be over soon. At least I'm keeping a promise to a good friend like you"

Beast Boy's big grin seemed to waver at those words "Heh. Yeah, friend"

As Mika slowly escaped his grasp, his smile soon fell in a frown. He could already feel that pit of despair and guilt form in his stomach. By the time he glanced up, Raven and Cyborg shook their heads right towards him.

"Okay, team. We have to find those guys before they do any more damage," Robin commanded, as his team mates huddled around him "Cyborg, search the west side. Raven, the east. Mika and I will take downtown. Beast Boy, you and Star scan from the skies"

Beast Boy quickly looked up at the smiling Starfire, oblivious to his tricks. A tear of anxious sweat already fell from his face just by looking at her. That pit in his stomach only seemed to grow deeper with every passing moment.

"Um...maybe Cyborg should come with me instead..." Beast Boy anxiously trailed off.

"Cyborg can't fly" Robin pointed out.

"Oh. Yeah..."

Right as he was about to leap into the air and fly off, Cyborg snuck behind him with smirk and pinched his cheek "Have a nice flight, my little clorbag"

A terrified look crossed the unfortunate green skinned teen's face in a snap.

* * *

It didn't take long for the Titans to split up and continue their search for the two siblings. As Cyborg and Raven went alone, Beast Boy reluctantly paired up with Starfire and Mika told to go with Robin, they spread across the city. So, in the middle of the night in the bare, empty city, the boy wonder and the sorcerer searched the city for Thunder and Lightning.

Robin walked confidently in front, and actively searched for his targets. Mika on the other hand, strolled far back, and stared blankly at the ground. He couldn't bother to bring his pale blue eyes up to his surroundings, nor straighten his back.

Even with Beast Boy's kind words of how to be a friend, still he couldn't help but feel...sad. Sure, he was doing a favor, but that favor was a lie to his friend. It was a double edged sword that only felt like it was slicing his palms, no matter how he hold it.

Even if the gloomy sorcerer was out of sight, Robin could sense every little thing he did.

"...Mika...Mika!"

The golden skinned boy suddenly snapped his head up as Robin's words drilled into his foggy head. He blinked a few times, before he was submerged into reality once more.

"Oh. Y-yes?" Mika asked.

Robin turned and sighed "I asked how you were holding up"

"I'm fine. It-it doesn't matter. We should focus on finding the two" Mika responded with a weak smile. A weak smile that seemed so forced to the boy wonder.

"You seem quiet, that's all"

"Really?" Mika blinked in surprise. He knew he was quiet, but this was a whole new level.

Robin nodded "Does this have to do anything with the way Starfire's acting? "

The sorcerer's weak, forced smile fell. In an instant, his pale blue eyes drew back to the ground. That alone was more than an answer to the boy wonder.

"I suppose..." Mika doubtfully shrugged "I'm doing a favor for Beast Boy"

"You mean taking the brunt of his problems?"

"Yeah, actually," Mika admitted "He-He tried pulling a prank on Cyborg, but it backfired and hit Starfire. He became so frantic that he let me take the blame for the prank instead. I don't mind at all, that's what's friends are for, right?"

The sorcerer widened his eyes as Robin stomped to a stop, inches from running against his feet. The boy wonder only turned ever so slightly, letting his mask catch the light of the midnight moon. And his frown.

"You've never had friends, have you?" Robin asked, coming to a final conclusion.

"I-I-I," The sorcerer stuttered frantically, trying to stuff words in his mouth "I have! They've always asked favors like Beast Boy does. Get this. Get that. Do this for me. Do that for me"

Robin raised his brow "Then what happened to them?"

"They...they disappeared" Mika painfully admitted, letting his flicker of confidence fade away as fast as a firework.

"Let me give you a piece of advice, Mika. That's not a friend. That's someone using you. A friend shouldn't rely on you just for errands or someone to take the blame"

"What about Beast Boy? He...used me?"

"Beast Boy...he's a different story. He means well, he really does, but he doesn't know when to stop. He's a work in progress"

"What should I do?" Mika asked

"I'll talk to him and have him straighten this entire situation out," Robin explained "Knowing him, he might have already"

"Oh, um...thank you"

"Not a-" Suddenly, Robin cut himself right off, causing him to snap his head around the city. When he sniffed, a hint of smoke filled his nose.

"Is that a fire?" Mika asked, sniffing around. When he turned to Robin however, he noticed his firm pointing. Right towards the tall, flickering orange flames of the mountains.

"Call the others," Robin commanded, as he set his brow low "We found them"

* * *

"Didn't anyone ever tell you?" Robin proclaimed over the hill"Play with fire, you're going to get burned"

The Titans stood over a tall, fiery creature, crafted entirely of the burning orange flames that spread across the trees. The beast let out a roar before it toppled a tree down, inches from where the Titans a stood. And of course, Thunder and Lightning stood right behind the destructive creature, along with an energy man with a large, billowed hat.

Robin, ignored by the fiery creature, stomped his foot in the grass and jumped off "Titans! Go!"

In an instant, the boy wonder drew a grenade from his pocket and chuckled it at the ground, causing a large cloud of thick smoke to billow out rapidly. Out from the grey mysterious smoke, the Titans emerged.

As Mika made a run for it, he stared up at the towering creature, and squinted in confusion. He couldn't help but notice the sharply curved symbol etched within the monsters forehead, as though it was scratched right into the orange, flickering flames. Then it hit him like a brick.

"I-I think I know what's going on!" Mika announced "Its a spell!"

"That's obvious enough…" Raven muttered under her breath as she flew near the sorcerer.

Cyborg immediately turned to the ever so capable half-demon, and raised his brow "You know how to stop this thing then?"

She sighed "It's more complicated than that. Mika and I may share similar powers, but we are derived from different origins"

"...Huh?"

"My powers are more supernatural in nature, as his powers come more from a physical source. I can use my spells and magic because I was born with some amount of power, Mika was not. I can do spells that he can, and he can do spells I can learn, but they require years of practice"

"She's-she's right," Mika continued "I had to learn h-how to draw out magic through concentration and...other ways"

"If you have the answers, this is a good time to tell us" Cyborg said, as he jumped over a small cliff.

Mika paused in thought and glanced at the fiery creature of destruction "If I remember...you need to smother him until he fades out like regular flames or...find his 'soul'. Something made of wood…"

"We don't have time for that, we'll have to go for the former," Robin suddenly popped in "Titans, put him out!"

Raven flew back high up into the air, and drew her eyes to the flames. There, the fire began to spread rapidly, nearly licking the trees. Then an idea came to her head "Flames can't spread if there's nothing to burn. Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Her darkened magic spread across multiple forest trees like a blanket, before they ripped them all out like a couple of weeds. Finished, she simply tossed the mature trees to the side.

"Good idea, Raven," Robin said as he took a quick side glance "Beast Boy! Starfire! Mika! Help her out!"

As Beast Boy transformed into a buffalo and Starfire released her starbolts, Mika yanked out his fans and flicked them right at the thick trees. Like butter, his precious, black and gold fans cleanly cut through each tree trunk it touched, causing the rest of the plant to topple over on its side. Far from the dangerous flames.

Cyborg suddenly pounced onto a patch of soft, dark dirt, and drew out his laser cannon. With a smirk, he released a thick, blue laser, straight at the dirt, causing it to explode out right in front of the monster. The fiery creature winced as the thick dirt consumed its body, leaving a thick cloud it ints wake.

Beast Boy carefully galloped up to the settling cloud of dirt, before he jumped up and turned back into hisb neary harless, human self "Is he out?"

Like an answer to his famed question, a loud, deafening roar escaped the thick dirt. When the dirt finally settled, the monster emerged from its sand grave.

"You had to ask…" Raven groaned. In seconds, she shot up high into the air, high above the firey creature. She gave a deep breath, before she delicately held up her hands, ready for her magic "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

The black aura crawled up smothered and smothered the monster in seconds, like a giant, fire resistant towel. It kept the creature smoking, cracked, and utterly hopeless. So, it seemed. Raven gasped as cracks slithered across the creatures body, until the sorceress couldn't contain its immense power. A huge explosion ripped through the creature, igniting its flames even brighter than before, and shooting Raven back. In an instant, Cyborg crashed into a tree.

Mika widened his eyes and surprise, letting his fans hang only in front of his face. Right as he was about to dart over to Raven and Cyborg to lift the sore Cyborg from his little indent in the tree, a brilliant flash of light nearly blinded him. The bright lightning bolt flashed across the three, sending them even further into the first. By the time Mika blinked back into the stark reality of the situation, Lightning smugly clapped his hands free of dust.

His eyes flashed wide open as a familiar black and gold fan sliced right past him, nearly nicking the edge of his nose. He let his narrowed eyes follow the fan, right back to the able and willing sorcerer.

"It seems your power has its limit," Lightning hissed, as he held up his sparking palms "But mine has none"

"Your only using your power to destroy and hurt others," Mika said, holding his fans defensively "That is your limitation"

"No one tells Lightning right from wrong!" Lightning yelled. With a loud, thunderous growl, he threw his ball of lightning right at Mika. In a flash, he flipped to the side, and landed in a crouch.

"Please, stop this," Mika begged "Fun shouldn't be at the expense of others. Does your brother look like he's having fun?"

Lightning growled as he snapped his head to his equally frustrated brother. Thunder narrowed his eyes and send a loud, thunderous boom straight at the green skinned boy, causing him to fly back like a piece of paper. Beast Boy painfully skidded to a stop, before he jumped into the air and transformed into a angry, green tiger. Lightning didn't see an ounce of amusement in his brothers face. Only anger.

The yellow skinned teen clenched his fist and growled "We must protect our amusement! You, magical one, you and your friends are destroying it!

"But...your fun was never there. It was always just pain and destruction. That's what you were protecting, and that's what your still protecting"

Lightning at first violently shook his head and clenched his fists tighter. That all disappeared as soon as he saw his firey monster, his own creation burning everything in sight. He saw absolutely no fun or amusement from the flames. Nor in his brothers eyes.

He released a deep sigh, and let his palms hang right in front of him, letting his thunderous power go. He barely noticed his brother and the green one approach him, with nearly the same idea

"We have done wrong, my brother," Thunder warned "Our fun must stop"

"I...agree" Lightning confessed.

"They also have gifts, but they use them for good, while we waste ours on dangerous fun," Thunder explained "If we are so special, brother, let us act special. We must help"

Lightning squinted as he looked down at his powerful hands "But how? Our gifts can only destroy"

"True. But together we have another gift"

The brothers gave a quick, warm smile to each other, before they locked hands,many shot up into the thick clouds. Thunderous noises escaped the air, along with sharp lightning. Slowly but surely, dark, thick clouds began to circle around the fiery creature, that was only a couple to steps from turning houses to absolute cinders. So, without another thought, Beast Boy and Mika darted towards the hot monster.

"What did you say to him?" Mika asked.

"Just gave him a quick reality check," Beast Boy shrugged "Worked like a charm. Oh...and Mika"

"Hm?" The sorcerer blinked in surprise.

"I, uh, cleared things up with Starfire. I'm-"

Beast Boy paused as a thick drop of water bounced on his head. He squinted in confusion, until he glanced up at the clouds. A huge smile crossed his face as water poured out of the clouds like a water spout, drenching everything in sight. The rain crawled across the land, and covered the once firey monster like a blanket. In seconds, the monster squealed as he shrunk into nothingness. By the time the two finally reached the houses, the once firey monster was nothing more than a pile of ashes.

"Ah, yeah!" Beast Boy laughed, as he let the rain catch on his tongue.

"That's what I mean!" Cyborg exclaimed "Very nice!"

Mika weakly smiled as he stared far up into the clouds, as though he expected the brothers to pop out right in front of his eyes. With the sound of unfamiliar foot steps however, that thought was immediately thrown to the side.

"I am sorry for the trouble we have made" Thunder apologized, bowing. He gently nudged the uninterested Lightning, who sighed and walked up.

"I am..." Lightning bowed "Also sorry"

"You have taught us much, green one," Thunder said as he took Beast Boy's hand "Thank you"

"As you did, magical one," Lightning nodded "We thank you"

Mika briefly bowed back "Thank you for your help"

"Don't thank me," Beast Boy shook his head and pointed to the brilliant eyed alien teen "Thank the person who taught me"

The two brothers replied with a quick bow to Starfire, causing her to respectfully bow back.

"And thank you for helping to defeat the flame monster" Starfire smiled.

It wasn't long before morning finally grew upon Jump city. With last goodbyes, the brothers finally shot off into the clouds, leaving the Titans firmly on the ground. The six simply watched the city as the morning sun tricked within the dark, shadowy streets. It lit everything up like a harsh candle in pure darkness.

"So, Slade wants to destroy the city," Cyborg broke the silence "Question is, why?"

"I don't know, but I will find out, and he won't get away with it" Robin clenched his fist tightly, letting the new insignia rest in his hand.

With that last proclamation, the Titans began to walk back to the tower. Mika simply dragged his feet through the mud, watching the beautiful sun consume everything in sight. A sudden tap on his shoulder nearly made him jump up on the air and squeal in shock. Although a small, high pitched noise did escape his throat, by the time he turned around, his anxiousness settled. Sort of.

"I am sorry for the way I have treated you, friend Mika," Starfire apologized with a weak, sympathetic smile.

"Oh, its-its-its alright. I under-" Mika was about to submissively respond.

"It was not alright at all," the alien teen insisted "I should have known that you could not do ssuch cruel pranks. Please, forgive me"

Mika weakly nodded and smiled "Um, alright. I forgive you, Starfire"

"So…" Beast Boy suddenly chimed in, squeezing himself between the two used individual "Am I, you know...now a clorbag?"

Starfire thoughtfully glanced up towards the morning sky, placing her finger on her chin "Mmm-no. I believe you are more of a...milnip wusserloop"

"Sweet!" Beast Boy exclaimed at the top of his lungs, not knowing a word of the Tamaranian language "Go, Beast Boy! I'm a milnip! Who's your wusserloop? Huh?"

His vivid dancing stopped once he heard a light giggle from Starfire. When they locked eyes, she only giggled louder at his utter innocence at the unknown word.

"That is a good thing...right, Star? Star?" Beast Boy doubtfully said, as Starfire held her hand in front of her mouth, trying to stop her uncontrollable laughs. With no end in sight, she darted forward, leaving Beast Boy and Mika to wonder the definition of a 'milnip wusserloop'.

Beast Boy shot a quick glance at the sorcerer, before he carefully lid right next to him "So, uh, I kinda never said I was sorry about, you know, using you. I'm, uh, sorry about that"

"It's alright, I forgive you," Mika nodded "You can't help it. It's who you are"

"Its...Huh?" Beast Boy scratched his head in utter puzzlement of his words. He didn't know whether to be insulted or happy. He opened his mouth to give Mika a piece of his mind, but by the time he actually realized his words, the sorcerer moved ahead with the rest of the Titans. With a sigh, Beast Boy closed his mouth, and caught up with his friends.

He forgot the sorcerer's words in days.

* * *

 **Thank you guest and** **Neo Tastsuji aka Zeta Master for your reviews!**

 **It was a bit hard to write his chapter at times, but it really paid off, in my mind at least. Nonetheless, it was a fun chapter to write. I actually had something completely different in mind for this chapter but...I decided to hold off on it for now.**

 **Anyways, I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are appreciated!**

 **\- X-Xepher-X**


	6. Nevermore

Raven loved the darkness.

It was like the blanket that surrounded her every being, welcoming her to peace and serenity. It was a kind of calm she couldn't get from just sitting the meditating out in the open. Not even from her friends. Instead, she had to get it by simply turning off her lights, and hanging up her thick curtains. Unless it was night, of course.

It felt like it took her ages to finally lock herself in her room. Everything from Starfire begging to do her hair, to Beast Boy pushing her to 'play' a game with Cyborg that consisted of a pile of stinky socks. She denied them with a passion, and nearly sprinted to her room. So, now alone, quiet, and peaceful, she metidated. It nearly brought a smile to her lips.

Until someone knocked on her door, that is.

A foul look of disgust crossed her face as that sound nearly poured into her ears. With a large sigh, she picked herself off the floor and quietly slid to her door.

"What do you want?" She nearly hissed at the eagar Mika.

The golden skinned teen nearly squealed in surprise at her frustrated demeanor "Oh, uh, I-I-I wanted to give these books b-back to you"

Raven let her eyes wander down, revealing a pile of books in his hands. She took a quick peek behind Mika, before her the little sliver of her door widened.

"Come in," Raven invited "Just set them on the desk"

Mika nodded, and carefully slipped into her room. His pale blue eyes immediately widened at the sight of stark darkness. He could barely see anything a few feet in front of him. And what he did see only sent a chill down his spine.

"Where are the rest of them?" Raven asked, only seeing a couple of thich books rested within his hands.

"I couldn't carry them all. I-I did borrow quite a few of them" Mika pointed out.

"Fair enough"

"So I asked Beast Boy to help me"

Ravens eyes winded "You-"

"Heeey Raven!"

The words left Beast Boy's mouth faster than Raven could ever begin to comprehend them. Before she could even say another word, the green skinned teen burst into the room, balancing a giant pile of various books within his hands. Raven could only watch in horror as the sweat stain cruised ever so casually into her room, as Beast Boy had a giant grin joy.

"Wow...So this is what it looks like in here…" Beast Boy mumbled as he let his curious eyes wander aimlessly.

"I hope you don't mind…" Mika furrowed his brows anxiously. Although it seemed like the vein that pumped on the side of her forehead would burst at any second, she kept her certain feelings bottled up. The feelings that wanted to wring the life out of Beast Boy. And maybe Mika.

She took a deep sigh, and crossed her arms "Just hurry it up"

He nodded.

The ever so curious Beast Boy nearly swept the room in awe, as though it was the finest museum in Jump City that actually grabbed his attention. His green eyes lit up in awe at a small, metal mirror that sat perfectly on her desk. It nearly called out to him, even if it did look weird and creepy.

Without a single thought in his head, he let the books fall from his hands, causing them to slam into the desk and shake it violently. The elegant, dark mirror shook with fury as it bounced across the desk.

Then it fell.

"NO!"

Raven screamed out with all her might. She slammed Beast Boy out of the way and leapt into the air, letting her hands float right in front of her. Before the idea of magic crossed her mind, the mirror crashed into the ground. A raw gasp escaped her shocked throat as the mirror slammed handle first into the floor, letting a few piece of glass chip right off. With wide, terrified eyes, she yanked the mirror of the ground and cupped it right in her hand.

"Is it alright?" Mika asked in worry.

Beast Boy watched as Raven cupped her delicate hands round the cracked mirror "Oh...uh...sorry about that…"

"Get out, both of you. Now" Raven demanded with a razor tongue.

"It's just a mirror, ri-"

"I SAID GET OUT" She yelled with intense fury. The two boys yelled as her black aura shoved them out of her room, causing them to slam in the hallway wall. Before they could even get back up to their feet, her door slammed tightly shut.

"Whoa dude, what was that all about?" Beast Boy asked as he picked himself off the floor.

Mika shrugged "I-I don't know. Maybe I made a-a-a mistake by asking f-for your help…:

"Hey!"

"You did break her mirror..."

Beast Boy sighed in defeat "Yeah, but what's so important about a mirror?"

* * *

"Your pathetic skills can't outshine the brilliance of Dr. Light!"

The doctor proclaimed his power with stunning confidence, all with a bright smirk upon his face. His face barely changed as a bird arrange came hurling as his face, as though it was nothing more than a pebble. With utter case, he flawlessly jumped out of the way, causing the weapon to bank and fly back into the boy wonder's hands

"You're fast, but I doubt you'll enjoy moving at the speed of light!" He chuckled. In an instant, he touched his chest, causing a bright, violent beam to piece through. The bright beam slammed through Robin, sending him to fly across the street. Beast Boy watched as the boy wonder soared through the air, causing him to charge Dr. Light with fury. Right as the green furred wolf leapt through the air, its sharp claws at the ready, Dr. Light ducked, and clapped his hands together.

"A wolf is no threat when it's blind as a bat!" Dr. Light said as he chucked brilliant lit orbs at Beast Boy. They suddenly exploded in dazzling flashing lights, causing Beast Boy to stumble in his utter dizziness and fall to the ground in his disorientation.

Before Dr. Light could fully wipe his hands clean of the titans, two fans hurled towards him, sharp and ready to cut him down. With a chuckle, Dr. Light quickly jumped away from their sharp edge, causing them to sharp turn. Mika flipped through the air and sent his two, thick boots right as Dr. Lights free, vulnerable face. Right as Mika caught his fans, Dr. Light sent a thick beam of yellow light straight at the bottom of his boots. The golden skinned teen widened his eyes in utter surprise as he helplessly flew through the air, ready to slam and skid across the ground ever so violently. For seconds, Mika laid pathetically on the ground, letting his new found sharp, bruising pain settle within his body. When it seemed the pain was bearable, he groaned up to his feet, ready to fight again.

Or so he thought.

His pale blue eyes widened in shock. Dr. Light cleaned the excess dust from his hands, proud of accomplishing his latest work. Only inches from him, Cyborg was embedded in a tomb of stone and dirt. Cyborg violently slammed his hands into the stone, only chipping a few pieces off of his grave.

"Uh! Hey!" Cyborg yelled "Let me..."

Dr. Light simply walked to him with a smug smirk upon his face. Cyborg's face dropped once he realize that bag over his shoulder was what they were fighting for.

"Now if nobody minds, I'll be taking the gold" Dr. Light said as he began to walk away from the scene.

"I mind"

Dr. Light widened his eyes in surprise at the new voice. In seconds, he whipped around, and saw the half-demon begin herself for victory.m

"Azarath Metrion Zin-" Raven was cut off by a thick, bright beam of light that pierced through her face. She hissed as she bounced across the street, as though she was nothing more than a unwanted toy left to rot.

"Bit of advice," Dr. Light began, as his hands began to light up "Find shorter magic words"

Raven narrowed her dark eyes in annoyance, and entrapped the red motorcycle within a blanket of her dark sorcery. In one sweep, and hurled the bright vehicle

at the villain, only to be blown apart into shards of metal. Another violent beam pierced through her body, causing herbal fly one again across the street. By the time Dr. Light confidently approached her again with his lighting hands of fury, she looked as defeated as ever. He thought, in the very least.

"Don't come...any closer..." Raven said menacingly, her cloak tightly over her head.m

"What's the matter?" Dr. Light mocked "Afraid of the light?"

Raven snapped.

Dr. Light widened his eyes in pure terror as Raven's eyes grew a sinister red from her pure rage. She grew high into the night sky, towering over the terrified villain. Suddenly, thick, eerie black tentacles shot out from her stark black cloak and clinged onto the villain

"No! No!" Dr. Light screamed for life as he was swept off his feet and dragged in like the newest catch.

Raven crafted a sharp, demonic smile upon her darkened face "What's the matter? Afraid of the dark?"

"I surrender!" Dr. Light cried, before he was finally consumed in darkness "NOOOOOO!"

"RAVEN!" Robin shouted at the top of his lungs "STOP!"

His familiar voice invaded the red eyes Raven. She gasped sharply in realization, causing her to slowly shrink. Her cloak slowly swept off the pitiful Dr. Light, revealing the once confident villain a shriveling mess. Starfire rushed over the villain and light touched him, causing him to quiver violently.

"It's okay," Robin comforted, as he lightly hovered his hand over his shaking body "You're going to be alright"

"It was...no...so dark…" Dr. Light finally managed to stutter for dear life "Make it stop...make it stop…"

Mika could only stare at Raven in horror, his wide, pale blue eyes staring into her shielded eyes. He couldn't comprehend the terror Dr. Light had seen, nor even imagine it. Not that he wanted to. Even with these thoughts that swirled around in his mind, only one stood out.

What did she do?

"Dude!" Beast Boy demanded, waving his hands sporadically into the air. "Raven, what did you do?"

Suddenly, a loud, deadly snap escaped the half-demon, causing her to snap her head around. Beast Boy squeaked as a pair of threatening red eyes nearly stared a hole into his forehead. Before he could scream and shout, Raven turned her head and scurried away. Far away.

"…What's her deal?" Beast Boy anxiously asked.

The only thing he got in return were hollow footsteps.

* * *

"Rise and shine, amigos!"

Beast Boy cheerfully flipped his scrambled tofu eggs around the pan as happily as one can cooking a tofu breakfast. Nearly everyone had a smile on as Beast Boy poured his homemade vegetarian breakfast onto a few plates. Mika attempted his weak smile as he always did, by a frown seemed stick to his face instead.

He feverishly scratched the surface of the counter, lost in his thoughts about Raven. Whatever happened the night before still haunted his thoughts. What did Dr. Light see that made him cower like a child? What happened to Raven? It as though she became an entirely different person, one who thirsted for pain and agony.

It was frightening, to say the least.

"Mika...Mika!" A sharp whisper filled the golden skinned teen's ears. He let out a soft gasp, nearly flipping his plate right off the table.

"Y-y-yes?" Mika quickly stuttered, letting his pale blue eyes meet Robin's.

"Are you ok?" The boy wonder coaxed his brows "It looks like you were spacing out there"

"Oh...yeah" Mika sighed, and drew his eyes down to the empty counter "It's just about Raven, that's all"

Robin frowned "She's fine. She's needs some space after yesterday"

"Yeah, yeah…" He politely nodded, even if those words didn't fully translate through his head

"Breakfast is served!" The joyful Beast Boy proclaimed, pouring the rest of his meal onto the last plate.

"Thanks, Beast Boy. Everything looks great" Robin complimented as a plate was set in front of him.

"It really does. Thank you" Mika added.

"On my planet, such a feast would mark the arrangement of a marriage. Tell me, Beast Boy, to whom are you engaged?" Starfire asked ever so innocently. Beast Boy immediately snapped his eyes open in surprise, causing him to nearly stumble back into the flickering, open flame of the stove.

Mika cautiously poked at what looked like incredibly pale eggs that were thrown into the backyard and scooped back into his plate. The eggs themselves smelled decent enough, but the look was enough to drive any weak soul out of the common room. With nothing left to lose, he took a bite. He squinted in utter curiosity of the flavor, wondering if it actually tasted good, or if it tasted of rubber.

All was clear when Cyborg violently spit out the eggs.

"That's not eggs!" Cyborg yelled, his face a slight sock green "That's that tofu stuff!"

He quickly went for what he hoped to be his cup of milk, only to snap his eyes wide open in disgust. In seconds, he spit out the liquid

"That's not even real milk!" The dark skinned teen shouted. Beast Boy frowned.

The green skinned teen nearly jumped out of his talks chefs hat in shock as the door skid open, revealing none other than Raven. It seemed that all eyes drew to her as she hurried down to a boiling kettle set on the stove, as though the rest of the Titans were only a figment of imagination.

"Hey, Raven. Want breakfast?" Robin asked.

"It's good," Beast Boy sang as he held up what he thought to be his delicious plate "Wakey-wakey, tofu eggs and bakey"

"Herbal tea" Raven abruptly cut through as she poured a steaming cup of tea into her mug.

Mika immediately jumped up from his seat "Do you-do you need help?"

"No" Raven bluntly replied,.

"Come on, just one little taste," Beast Boy pushed, as she slid right next to the slightly annoyed half demon "You could use a little food after the way you cooked Dr. Light"

The green skinned teen regretted those words right as they left his mouth. In an instant, Raven snapped her head around, revealing deadly, glowing red eyes.

"NO!" Her voice echoed throughout the common room. Suddenly, the paled, luke-warm eggs exploded from Beast Boy's plate, drenching his face in his homemade breakfast contents. He squealed in shock, causing Raven to stomp back into the hallways.

"...Maybe you should go apologize" Robin finally said.

"Me?!" Beast Boy exclaimed, as he shook all the egg from his face like a dog "I'm not the one who just turned breakfast into a battlefield!"

"Yeah, but after the weirdness that went down last night, you should know better than to go messing with her" Cyborg warned.

"I was trying to be nice. But no matter how hard I try, she still treats me like tofu eggs!" Beast Boy defended "You know, she's never once laughed at any of my jokes"

Cyborg shrugged "'Least she listens. I just kinda tune you out"

It certainly didn't make Beast Boy any happier.

"Raven is complicated. There is much about her we are not meant to understand" Starfire explained.

"Then how are we supposed to deal with her? How can we even trust her? I mean-"

"Raven is-is our friend" Mika softly interrupted "I think that's enough trust"

Beast Boy sighed, letting those new thought swirl around in his mind. He carefully drew his green eyes to what was supposed to be his breakfast, now a pile of cold garbage. Seconds later, his eyes lit up, causing his hands to camp tightly onto Mika's arm. The golden skinned boy squealed as the eager Beast Boy began to helplessly drag him into the hallway.

"Wha-" Mika was about to say, cut off by a violent tug of his arm.

"If I gotta say sorry, your coming with me!" Beast Boy proclaimed.

"But-ok..." He replied, completely giving in to his demands.

It wasn't long before the green skinned teen finally dragged him to Raven's door. Mika could feel Beast Boys hands tremble more and more as he carefully tugged Mika to the door. When the finally reached its black, blank exterior, he shook like a leaf. Beast Boy's wide, green eyes scanned the seemingly blank door in terror, as though Raven was about to jump out any minute and rip him apart. Literally and metaphorically.

"Heh, heh..." Beast Boy cleared his throat "You wanna knock on the door?"

"No thank you..." Mika anxiously replied.

"Please?" Beast Boy squeaked, earning a clean shake of the head.

"N-n-no. I-I-I shouldn't be here. I-I-I didn't do anything other than...help break her mirror..." Mika sighed "Maybe I-I should..."

"Break her mirr-ohhhh" Beast Boy sighed in realization. He almost forgot that incident, even if he was the one who actually broke the mirror. He didn't really see why Mika blamed himself, but it was enough for him to shove the nervous pale blue eyed teen closer to his doom. Or rather, closer to the door.

"You should apologize first then! You broke the mirror!" Beast Boy said with an incredibly fake, yet relieved smile.

"I-I-I didn't directly break her mirror!" Mika defended "I-I-I"

"You might want to actually knock"

The two teens squealed in shock, causing them to violently jump back from one another. They snapped their heads away from the door, revealing the rather annoyed looking Cyborg.

"Oh, uh," Beast Boy cleared his throat "Hey Cyborg. What are you doing here?"

Cyborg raised his brow "Making sure you apologize. And what's with the mirror?"

"I-I-I-" Mika closed his eyes, and took a deep, peaceful sigh "I-I asked Beast Boy f-for help yesterday carrying a few books back to Raven. He dropped some books onto a table, and broke the mirror. I-I never said sorry"

"Cause she threw us out!" Beast Boy exclaimed "She's not making it easy to apologize!"

Cyborg immediately groaned, and shoved the two terrified Titans out of the way "Since ya both can't even knock, I'll do it"

He sent what seemed like a few soft knocks onto the door, and paused. He squinted once the door stated to loudly squeal, as though some animal was trapped on the other side. Seconds later however, the door came crashing down, destroying the kind that separated the Titans and Raven's mysterious room.

Beast Boy let a tear of anxious sweat roll from his face "Now we all have to apologize..."

Mika squeaked in terror.

The slightly terrified Titans cautiously tipped toed into the dark, threatening room that belonged none other to Raven. Shelves were overflowed with various books, ready to fall and spread all across the floor. Mysterious, unsettling masks peered into the Titan's souls, as though they were ready to jump off and consume the boys. Antique, chest, lamps, and sheets lines the small room, making it seems more like a crepppy, old anquire shop than a room. That's what Beast Boy though in the very least.

Cyborg anxiously peered in "Uh, Raven? Sorry about the door. Raven?"

"Dude, she's not here. Come on!" Beast Boy exclaimed. In an instant, he strolled right into the room.

"Beast Boy.." Mika anxiously whispered "Beast Boy!"

The green skinned teen simply ignored his pleads, as though the golden skinned teens words were nothing more than his imagination. With a grin on his face, he pumped his arms into the air and began his trek around Raven's room.

Beast Boy chuckled "Looks like Halloween came early this year."

"We're in Raven's room. We should not be in Raven's room," Cyborg hissed "She doesn't let anybody in here-ever!"

"So this is our big chance to find out more about her!" Beast Boy exclaimed.

Mika reluctantly entered the dark, black room, letting his hands shaky hands dig into his shivering arms "I-I- I don't thinks this is a good idea…"

Beast Boy scoffed "Yeah, sure, whatever. For instance…" A laugh escaped his throat as he picked up the small, silver mirror. Although it was slightly cracked, it didn't stop him from getting his grubby hands on its fine features "...check out this beauty mirror. Who woulda thought Raven spends time sprucing? Ah! Is that a zit?"

"You-you shouldn't touch it!" Mika stuttered, causing his pale blue eyes to widen as big as dinner plates "You-you broke it last time!"

The green skinned boy simply scoffed, shoving his statement aside like yesterday's trash. He simply kept his wide, toothy grin on his face as he lightly poked his cheeks in the mirror.

"Come on, B, we should really get out of here…" Cyborg anxiously said.

"L-let's go…" Mika nervously mumbled

Then a pair of glaring, cold red eyes started back at him.

"Huh?"

Beast Boy let out a squeal, causing his dark green eyes to visibly widen across the glass of the mirror. He violently threw the mirror on the ground as a thick mist of black energy curled out of the surface and shot up like a dagger. Suddenly, the black fog latched itself onto the terrified green skinned teen and began to drag him inside the empty, dark void that was once the mirror. Cyborg and Mika snapped their eyes wide open, and grabbed onto Beast Boy and yanked him like a rag doll.

"Yo!" Cyborg grimaced, using all his might to yank Beast Boy back into reality. With one quick, swift yank however, the three teens swirled around into the mysterious vortex, swallowed up by the little mirror. Screams and cries filled the swirling vortex of doom, letting only the colors of deadly black and blinding red fill their vision. Before it seemed like Beast Boy would throw up all his guys from the swift colors, the vortex spit the titans out. They crashed violently into the black, grey ground, causing their faces to slid across like rough sandpaper.

In a blink of an eye, the vortex swirled into the nothingness of the black sky.

"Ow…" Mila groaned as he painfully picked himself off the ground. He blinked in confusion as an odd, black meteor whizzed last his face, revealing the dark sky.

"Oh, man!" Cyborg shot up from the floating piece of dirt and snapped his eyes around.

"I told you we shouldn't have gone in her room!" Beast Boy exclaimed "Uh...where are we?"

Cyborg drew his eyes to his arm and began to madly type away "You're asking the wrong robot. My sensors must be on the blink, cause they're saying we're in Titans Tower"

"Riiiight. So how do we get back?" Beast Boy asked. His eyes widened in utter realization. In an instant, his eyes snapped to the resident sorcerer. The other resident sorcerer.

Mika let a fat, anxious tear of sweat run down his face the moment Beast Boy's curious eyes met his "H-huh?"

Beast Boy rolled his eyes "Duh! Your magical and stuff! Don't you know anything about this?"

"As much as I hate to admit it, the grass stain has a point," Cyborg shrugged, earning a glare from the said grass stain himself "Got any Intel on...this?"

"Er...um..." Mika mumbled as he quickly whipped his eyes across his unfamiliar surroundings "I-I don't. Raven and I practice different kinds of sorcery, we know different things. We could be in a different universe, a parallel universe, a created universe, I-I don't know. Sorry"

"Guess we start walking" Cyborg shrugged. With no other option, he began his trek across the foreign land.

"Come on. I'm serious!" Beast Boy protested "We're on a rock in the middle of-" Right he was about to step into the void of nothingness, a pile of rocks began to float in the air, and formed a thin, rocky path.

"Oh..." Beast Boy blinked in surprise "If sending us to Weirdsville's Raven's idea of a joke, I am so not laughing"

"Hey, she didn't send us here. You're the one who went snooping in her room and popping zits in her magic mirror" The dark skinned teen snapped back.

"That's was Mika's fault! If he never asked for my help, we wouldn't be here in the first place!" Beast Boy yelled.

Mika sighed, and anxiously rubbed his arm in defeat "I-I suppose..."

"Yo grass stain, didn't you say you were the one who broke that mirror?" Cyborg suspiciously asked with a raise brow.

Beast Boy nervously laughed "He, he...but seriously, who booby-traps a mirror?"

"Maybe it-it wasn't a trap..." Mika placed his fingers on his chin "Maybe this is Raven's way home. Maybe this i-is where she's from. It might be another possibility"

"Definitely creepy enough" Beast Boy replied. Right as he was about to take another step, a faint, childlike whisper swam into his ear.

"Turn back..." The voice sweetly warned. Beast Boy snapped his head around, searching for the odd, creepy noise. No matter how much he feverishly search however only rocks and darkness surrounded him.

"Like I was saying..." The green skinned teen mumbled

"Turn back..." The voice related in its childlike tone. Suddenly, a small flock of tiny, black birds fluttered down to a rock near the Titans. Mika whipped his head around, and let his pale blue eyes scan the mysterious birds. He felt a rock of nervousness grow in his stomach the longer he looked at the seemingly harmless birds. It was like their empty, pitiless eyes seated deep within the darkest depths of his soul, trying to yank out the darkest memories he had. It certainly made the golden skinned teen cower in back of the sturdy Cyborg.

"Sweet!" Beast Boy exclaimed, pointing to a bird "Betcha they can tell us how to get home"

"Careful. How do we know they're not a threat?" Cyborg warned.

"I-I don't like the way their looking at me..." Mika mumbled.

"See?" The dark skinned teen pointed out.

Beast Boy scoffed, flipping his hand into the air "Hel-lo? Remember me? Beast Boy? If they were dangerous, I'd know"

Although no entirely convinced, Cyborg shrugged. Beast Boy nodded confidently, and strolled right up to the creepy yet cute little birds.

"Hey, little guys. My buddy and I were wondering if-"

"Turn back..." The birds echoed in sync, letting their high pitched, soft voices invade their ears "Turn back...turn back...TURN BACK"

Beast Boy cowered in fear as the once cute, defenseless birds grew threateningly sharp fangs. A howling cry escaped their beaks as their eyes turned a deadly shade of bright red, ready to attack the Titans. And so they did.

The flock of deadly birds burst into the sky and charged the three Titans. Mika widened his eyes as Cyborg pounced out of the way, leaving the flock of sharp beaked birds to dart towards the terrified sorcerer. Without another thought, he let his hands dance across the air, creating a brightly lit, intricate shield. He closed his eyes tightly shut,many braced for the impact of his life. If there was an impact, that was.

Like tissue paper, the deadly birds pierced through the pathetic shield and crashed straight into the golden skinned teen. A hollow cry escaped his throat as the birds pinned him to the ground and dug their beaks into his flesh as though he was nothing more than a ripe piece of meat. Suddenly, a large, thick beam of blue energy cut through the birds, causing them to crow and scatter from the defenseless sorcerer.

Mika slowly unraveled himself from his little pathetic ball and crawled back up to his feet. His wide, pale blue eyes scanned his hands, bloodied and cut up from the beaks of the birds.

"M-my magic...it doesn't work here..." Mika realized in horror. "Beast Boy! Cyborg! My magic isn't working in here!"

"Get em off me! Get em off me!" A sudden shrill voice filled Mika's ears. He snapped his head up, only to see Cyborg running like a mad-man, away from a thick flock of those deadly birds "Cut it out!"

Mika whipped out his fans and tossed them ever so gracefully into the air. The fans banked around the dark skinned teen's head and burst into the flock of birds. The intricate fans sliced through a deadly bird, causing it to dissipate into thin air. Mika widened his pale blue eyes in surprise.

The sorcerer nearly squealed as he felt something soft brush against his skin. He snapped his head around and breathed a sigh of relief, revealing nothing more than a familiar green llama. In an instant, Mika hopped onto the tall green animal and charged the dark skinned teen.

The transformed Beast Boy darted right past Cyborg, letting him dig his hands into his plush, green fur. With a groan, Cyborg climbed right behind Mika, and let his lasers fly out if his cannon. He let his bright blue beam loose through the air and cut through the sky, turning a few of the birds into the nothingness of the void. One particular bird flew low to the ground, causing Cyborg to aim for that deadly bird. Like a shadow however, the bird darted inches in front of the beam, letting the laser pierce into the rocky ground. Or rather, shaky ground.

Like sand, the ground began to crumble away right below their feet. The three Titans could only stare at one another in horror as the floor collapsed. Cyborg immediately dug his hands into the rocky edge, railing onto the horrified green llama that was Beast Boy. Mika hung into Beast Boy's furry legs for dear life. Nothing could save him now. Even he knew Cyborg couldn't hold onto that edge forever. They were done for. So, awaiting his certain death, he squeezed his pale blue eyes shut.

"Hey, guys," a familiar, yet...unfamiliar voice rang "What's up?"

The three Titans snapped their heads up. Only inches from their eyes Raven stood ever so confidently with...a smile? And a pink robe? Most shocking however was not her new appearance, nor that happy grin that lined her face. It was the fact she stood ever so perfectly. Upside down.

"I don't know anymore..." Cyborg croaked.

Like a pile of bricks, the crashed down what seemed to be the floor. Stuck in a big dog pile of confusion and shock, the light pink cloaked Raven giggled like a schoolgirl.

"Raven?!" Beast Boy popped up to his feet back in his human form "How did-where are-what just...Why are you wearing pink?

"'Cause it's my favorite color" Raven giggled in a high pitched tone.

"I-it is?" Mika blinked in utter shock.

"Look, I'd love to talk fashion," Cyborg interrupted "but I don't suppose you know how to get home"

"The Forbidden Door," Raven replied as she pointed to a large, dangerous looking arch that seemed to only lead further into the red stared abyss.

"That-that's looks dangerous..." Mika anxiously replied

"Of course it is silly!" Raven lightly giggled "It's the only way out, but you don't want to go there. Not now"

The three sane Titans quickly gave each other a look, before they snapped their heads right back at the smiling Raven.

"Uh...yeah, we do" The three boys said in sync.

"'Kay, but don't say I didn't warn you!" Raven winked. With her last words, she shot off towards the large arch. She spread out her arms like a bird and sliced her hands through the air as she spit out airplane wounds and zig-zagged across. The three Titans could only look in utter shock at her new found happiness. It didn't settle very well in any of their stomachs. With no other leads however, they reluctantly began walking.

"That was...very odd" Mika said, tilting his head in utter shock.

"I know. Have you ever seen her this happy?" Cyborg raised his brow.

"Dude, I didn't even know Raven could do happy" Beast Boy replied. He finally stepped past the arch, causing the unsettling darkness to dissipate into a pastel colored landscape. Pink trees danced across the wind, letting their brightly colored leaves sway to the ground. Yellow bushes glimmered across the plush blue sky. The light grey path whip calls twisted and turned, as though they were in a story book rather than a creepy little dimension.

"Now where are we?" Cyborg blinked in surprise.

Mika anxiously watched a small, cute strawberry simply float by his face "Um...I-I think we're in the same place...I think...I-I-I really don't know at this point"

"I think this might be where air fresheners come from..." Beast Boy mumbled. He nearly jumped in surprise as Raven let out a bubbly, cackling laugh.

"Good one!" Raven giggled, holding her hand to her mouth.

"You're laughing?" Cyborg questioned in shock.

"At one of my jokes?" Beast Boy said unbelievably.

"Sure. I've always thought you were funny, BB," Raven admitted "But hey, looks aren't everything"

With another uncharacteristic giggle, she darted further into the path, leaving the three Titans as stunned as ever. Even as she continued to spit out nonsense, the three sane Titans reluctantly followed the path.

"What the heck was that?!" Beast Boy exclaimed "First, she's actually wearing something other than the color of death, second, she's actually having a happy emotion, third she's laughing at my jokes?! What's going on with that girl?!"

"Hey, you got what you asked for," Cyborg shrugged "She finally a laughed at something you thought was funny"

"Yeah, but this is insane! She's gone insane! Everything is insane!" Beast Boy.

Mika coaxed his brows and stared at the ground, lost in thought "Maybe this really is Raven's home. Maybe the mirror was just a portal to another dimension..."

"I guess that would explain..." Cyborg paused as another fat, juicy strawberry passed by his face "this..."

"But that doesn't explain why Raven is becoming a clone of Starfire! I mean, I can deal with one, but two? It'll destroy me!" Beast Boy snapped back.

"Oh...right..." Mika paused in thought "Maybe...maybe Raven has a sister she hasn't told us about?"

"Then how come pink and happy knows us like the back of her hand?" Cyborg raised a brow.

Mika shrugged "I don't know. Maybe they just switch around like twins do from time to time. Or maybe Raven has told the other 'Raven' about us"

"Or, we could, you know, ask" Beast Boy pointed out "Raven! Raven, we gotta question for you!...Raven?"

Beast Boy paused, waiting for the bright and happy Raven to skip back to him and giggle as she did. Nothing but the sound of the pink trees swaying however, filled his ear. He narrowed his uninterested green eyes in frustration.

"Uh...I think she skipped us" Cyborg nervously realized.

"She ditched us! I can't believe Raven ditched us!" Beast Boy exclaimed "Next time I see her, it's not gonna be pretty"

Right as he punched his angry fist into his palm, the bright, cheery scenery faded into nothingness. The same unsettling, dark void of terror and horror swallowed the Titans once again, revealing the same dark and rocky path that nearly killed them.

"Hey, I know where we are!" Cyborg anxiously explained "We're in that place where I didn't know where we were before!"

"Yeah..." Mika sighed in defeat. He blinked in shock as a small, grey dot popped up from the side of his pale blue eyes. In a snap, he whipped his head around, revealing none other than the grey skinned half-demon. Mika couldn't help but raise a brow in confusion of her...new look? Instead of the cheery, bright pink cloak she proudly wore, a dismal, boring grey cloak simply hung over her gloomy body. Her bubbly grin became nothing more than an anxious, deep frown that Mika seemed familiar with every day. Even her eyes were as sad her as entire demeanor.

"Where were you?!" Beast Boy angrily snapped "Shopping for robes?"

Right as those words left his mouth, the grey cloaked Raven cowered like a homeless puppy, afraid of the first that always came down upon it. Beast Boy's face softened as he saw little tears glisten in her eyes.

"Whoa. Easy," Beast Boy held up his hands in defense "I didn't mean it. Please don't-"

"A-are you ok?" Mika softly interrupted. The usually timid Raven lightly nodded in response, before she crept closer to the said sorcerer.

"Hey!" Cyborg yelled. All eyes snapped to him, revealing a large, cave-like door behind him. Although it seemed like the door was miles away, it brought a grin to everyone's faces. Everyone except Raven, of course.

"That's that Forbidden Door, right, Raven?" Cyborg asked, earning a worried nod from Raven "Come on, y'all! We're almost-whoa!"

Suddenly, a thick, metal sheet pierced through the rock and shot up into the air. Like dominos, other dangerous metal walls followed suit and darted high into the air, trapping the Titans. Beast Boy quickly jumped into the air and transformed into a long, graceful hawk. He flew straight up the wall, only to be shocked as he reached the top. Like a stone, he crashed straight into the ground.

"Great..." Beast Boy groaned as his head dizzily spinned.

"Oh, man, we gotta get outta here!" Cyborg shouted. He broke his laser cannon loose, and let out a barrage of thick, blue beams. Right as the hit the wall, they dissipated, not even leaving so much as a scratch on them.

Mika shot his fan high into the air, only to see it be consumed by a barrage of electricity. He squealed as his lovely fan tumbled straight to to the ground like an anvil, crawling with electricity.

"It's a maze. You can't get out," Raven softly spoke up "You have to go through. I can show you the way, but when we reach the end, you won't like me anymore," She softly lead her eyes words the green skinned teen "He already doesn't like me"

"Come on. That's not..." Before Beast Boy could finish, Raven latched onto the unsuspecting Mika and softly tugged at his arm. The golden skinned teen blinked in surprise as Raven gently walked him into the winding maze, as though the sorcerer was nothing more than a security blanket. He quickly grabbed his fan before he reluctantly submitted to the cautious Raven.

The moment Raven turned the corner with Mika, Beast Boy scoffed and crossed his arms "Gee, Raven, moody much?"

"Yeah, she's like a whole different person" Cyborg scratched his head.

"Yeah, she's a clone of Mika" The green skinned teen pointed out.

"I wouldn't say..." Cyborg paused, before he shrugged "Yeah, she's a clone"

With nothing else to do, they began to follow the grey cloaked Raven. Further up ahead, Raven gently tugged Mika around the corner, causing him to blink a few times. He glanced down to the rather scared Raven, only to be met with a rather timid grown. It seemed that all Raven could do was hook onto the rather afraid Mika and glance down at the rocky ground. Like how he's was only minutes ago.

It looked all so familiar to him. Because Raven was him.

"W-why me?" Mika reluctantly whispered. The timid half-demon glanced up, revealing her ever so innocent, wide eyes.

"What do you mean?" Raven softly asked.

He sighed and cleared his throat "You could have held anyone else, like Cyborg or Beast Boy...why me?"

"Are you saying you don't want me to?" Raven let a few tears welled up in her eyes, causing her grip only to grow tighter onto Mika.

"N-n-no!" Mika frantically shook his head, causing him to blush a worried pink "No, no, no, no. It's-It's nothing like that! I-I swear! I...I..."

The timid Raven let her eyes wander up to Mika's blushing face "I know you won't lash out when we get to the end. I know Cyborg or Beast Boy will. Beast Boy especially..."

Mika softly shook his head "They won't. We just want to get home. It won't be your fault"

"Really?"

"Yes"

"Promise?"

"Um..."

"...Promise?"

Mika weakly, yet sincerely smiled, "I promise"

It seemed like the maze dragged on for hours to the Titans. With each winding corner came another dozen or so winding corners. It seemed like with every apology Raven made, a hundred more issues came rolling out of her mouth. It seemed like with every soft tug Raven made on Mika's arm, another surprised looked crossed his face. Every. Single. Time.

"And...remember the time I called you both immature pinheads?" Raven anxiously continued "I'm sorry for that too. And also the-"

"For the hundredth, millionth time..." Beast Boy and Cyborg groaned for what seemed like the billionth time "We forgive you!

Raven suddenly unhooked her arm from Mika's warm arm, and waved her hand across a wall. The wall suddenly shot open, revealing the sweet, creepy path that left the maze. On either side of the maze however, two tall statues stood. One statue had a menacing grin, while the other had a mocking smile. Either way, they were as unsettling as the rest of the dimension was.

"That's the end..." Raven weakly said.

"Sweet!" Beast Boy shot his fist into the air.

"All right, Raven!" Cyborg nodded in acknowledgement.

"Thank you" Mika took Raven's grey hands and cupped them as he nodded.

His soft, tender moment came to a crashing halt as the sound of violent crumbling filled his ears. He snapped his head around, and widened his eyes in terror. The two statues collided with each other, and formed another pair of arms. With menacing, glowing red eyes, as pair of deadly swords formed in its hands.

"What?" Cyborg mustered up in shock.

"No way..." Beast Boy mumbled in disbelief.

Raven released a weak, sad sigh "Told you you wouldn't like me when we got here.,."

"Raven, wai-" Mika held out his hand, only to see Raven to drop and disappear into the ground below. Before he could even mutter another word, the ground began to shake with vengeance and fury. In a snap, the huge rock creature began to dart towards the titans, its deadly swords pointed right at their necks.

As Beast Boy charged the creature as a sweeping hawk and Cyborg readied his cannon, Mika drew his fans and whipped them into the air. Cyborg let a laser shoot out of his arm and pierce the creature. When the dust cleared however, not even a scratch was laid upon the smiling creature. The stone monster flawlessly jumped away from the deadly fans, causing them to bank back to rightful owner like a boomerang. Suddenly it shot its heavy, sharp hand into the air and snatched the the green awake like a fly. The transformed Beast Boy frantically crowed as he struggle to even flap in the creatures tight hands.

Cyborg groaned and readied his cannon once more "Can't you use your sorcery or whatever to make that rope thingy-majigger?"

"I told you, I can't!" Mika cried as he caught his fans "My-my powers don't work in here!"

"How about you-" Cyborg was about to say, only to be cut swiftly off.

"Yo! Eight-Eyes!" A familiar, yet...unfamiliar voice confidently mocked "Hai-yah!"

The green cloaked Raven sent a violent, swift kick to the stone creatures face, causing it to unwrap the frantic Beast Boy. The shockingly confident Raven grinned as the creature stumbled pathetically into a rock.

"Whoo-hoo!" Raven oddly pumped her fist into the air "In your faces!"

With that same lopsided smirk, Raven flawlessly dodged every little slice and attack the creature made, as though he was nothing more than a kid who decided to pick up a sword one day. With a slick smirk, she hopped high into the air,many slammed her two fingers together. Like butter, the once dangerous creature crumbled beneath her strength. When she finally landed back onto her two feet, the stone monster collapsed into two, smooth pieces of rock. The Titans could only look at her in surprise, shock, amazement, any emotion that registered something unusual.

"Hoo-ah! High fives!" The green cloaked Raven raised her hands into the air "Come on!"

Beast Boy took a few moments to gather himself before he shook his head and went back into the stark, weird reality "What is your deal?! First you nuke breakfast, then finally laugh at my jokes, then you're all weepy, and now you're a Marine? Make up your mind. Who are you?!"

Raven replied with a frown. One of the Ravens, that was.

Like shadows, the pink and grey cloaked Raven popped up in back to the green cloaked Raven. Although they all had different expression, it was clear those emotions belonged to the same exact face.

"I'm Raven" the three proclaimed in dramatically different tones.

Mika raised his brow and began to wave his finger around "You're happy...You're timid...and you're brave..."

"You forgot dopey!" The pink Raven giggled, as she lightly shoved the weak Beast Boy.

"Different sides of Raven's personality. We're not in Raven's home" Cyborg realized.

"We're in her head..." Beast Boy mumbled in shock

"And I want you out" that familiar, snappy voice suddenly chimed in. The Titans twisted their heads to see Raven, their Raven standing in the middle of the other 'inferior' Raven's. In a second, the three copies faded out of existence, leaving the true Raven to deal with the mess. It was safe to say she didn't look happy.

"The mirror you found is for meditation," Raven threateningly crawled up to the terrified Beast Boy "It's a portal into my MIND-NOT A TOY!"

"He, he, he..." Beast Boy anxiously chuckled "My bad"

"If you don't mind me asking, but do your...other selves have anything to do with your broken mirror?" Mika curiously asked.

Raven sighed "What do you think? Of course. When Beast Boy cracked my mirror, he let all my emotions run loose. I've found nearly all of them, except one"

Right as those words left her mouth, the creepy, unusual birds began to flap frantically away. Raven gasped, and snapped her head feverishly.

"You have to go-now" Raven warned.

"Hold up. What's going on here?" Cyborg held up his palm.

"I told you, one of my emotions...got loose. And it's very bad" Raven explained, as she cautiously snapped her head around.

"Wh-which one?" Mika anxiously asked. He gasped in shock as the ground below him began to shake with righteous fury.

"My worst one" Raven ever so vaguely explained.

"Oh, no, you don't!" Beast Boy suddenly snapped "I've had it with this mystery-girl routine. I want to know exactly what we're talking about her!"

All Raven could do was sigh and roll her eyes, as she always did. With a inhuman roar that shook the giant piece of rock however, she snapped her head up and widened her eyes. What felt like miles above her stood a giant, red skinned man with bulging muscles and flowing, stark white hair. With four, unsettling glowing yellow eyes, it was enough to make Raven cautiously back up to a rock.

"Hatred shall rule" the red skinned demon proclaimed in a deep, mighty voice that vibrated everything around him.

"Let's just say...I have issues with my father" Raven carefully explained

The monstrous demon released another howling roar, letting four, thick lasers escape from his eyes. The three Titans ducked out of the way for their lives, leaving Raven to take the brunt of the attack. Although it hit the ground inches from her feet, the force was powerful enough to send her flying across the rocky floor. Before the three free Titans could dart into the rather bare looking door, another laser came hurling their way. Right as it seemed the three teens would be consumed however, Raven stomped right beaten them and the powerful red skinned demon

"Azarath Metrion Zinthos!" Raven powerfully proclaimed. In an instant, her black flowing sorcery left her finger tips and created a smooth, round shield. She gritted her teeth as the laser crashed right into her shield, causing her feet to dig into the rocky ground.

"Get out of my mind!" Raven growled, struggling to keep up her shield "Now!

"But-" Mika was about to plead

"And leave you alone with that?" Beast Boy interrupted with a raised brow.

"Not gonna happen" Cyborg shook his head.

"It's my problem," Raven struggled to grumble "I'll deal with it. If I lose, you'll be stuck in here forever"

Before another desperate word could escape her mouth, the red demon hurled a giant ball of energy straight at her shield. Like glass, her once powerful shield shattered, leaving the Titans in a thick cloud of dust. Raven coughed frantically as the dust communed her face and lungs

"Go!" Raven commanded, whipping her hand to the side. In an instant, the three Titans screamed in surprise as they were helplessly lanced at the mouth of the safe, swirling portal that was the forbidden door.

The three watched as Raven burst into the air and began to bank around the red demon like an annoying little fly. The demon forcefully clapped his hands, only to catch nothing but dust and dirt. Growling in bubbling anger, he slapped his palm to the side, hitting the small half demon like a fly swatter. A creepy, twisted smile formed upon the demons mouth as the knocked out Raven simply fell into his hand.

"Rage shall consume you" The red demon whispered in his smooth, yet eerie tone. The voice however, failed to even register with Raven.

"Yo!"

The red demon growled in anger and slowly turned his head. His furrowed, narrowed brows only seemed to grow deeper as the sight of the dark skinned teen. With narrowed, determined eyes, Cyborg readied his cannon.

"Sounds like somebody needs a timeout!" Cyborg proclaimed, shooting a thick beam to energy. The laser piece red into his arm, leaving only but a cloud of old dust that clung onto the red monster. Suddenly, Cyborg relaxed another powerful beam, and collided with its bare chest. A howling cry escaped the red beast as he stumbled backwards, letting his catch that was Raven free from his hands. Before the red demon could regain his balance, he toppled over the edge like a pile of bricks, and was swallowed within the endless void.

Raven's seemingly lifeless body flew through the air, her cloak following her like a hopeless sail to her ultimate doom. Before she crashed into the ground, a pair of thick claws dug into her shoulder. The sharp pain was enough for her to snap open her eyes, revealing a familiar green hawk. Feet from the rocky, harsh ground, Beast Boy gently released Raven and let her glide within Mika's open arms. A weak, tired moan escaped her lips, as she blinked back into the reality that was her own mind.

"Are you alright?" Mika asked with wide, curious eyes.

"Yeah..." Raven softly nodded before Mika helped her to her feet. Her worried eyes laid upon the green skinned teen, who ran to her side in moments.

"You stayed?" The half-demon blinked in shock "I thought you didn't like me..."

"Thought you didn't like me" Beast Boy admitted. Raven let a tiny, warm smile fill her face.

"Yo, I like both of you, all of you. Now get your butts over here!" Cyborg demanded. His eyes widened as the ground once again shook violently. Except this time it was with pure rage.

"FEEL MY FURY!"

The red demon shot out from the mountainous cliff with a grow that shook everyone's bones to their core. The demon released a thick, deadly beam from his four eyes, crashing straight into the dark skinned teen. The beam shot him violently into the dense rock only feet from him, earning an audible groan of shock and pain. His pained expression however, was shielded by a thick cloud of dust.

Mika burst from the fog of dirt and shot his fans straight at the giant red creature that was the deadly demon. He flipped across the air, missing the thick laser of fury by a hair. He knew that feeling of dread was bubble up his throat at some point yet...it would have came already. He was confused, but it certainly didn't take away his absolute determination. At least for now.

The awfully green pterodactyl let his thick claws dog into the red demons long, white hair, causing the monster to fight and grow with fury. Like butter, the fans weaved around his tight face and chopped of feet upon feet of his hair. The demon instantly crashed into the rocky peaks below him, only to shoot lasers from his eyes only seconds later. Before the deadly lasers could even touch a Titan however, the teens frantically dived behind the nearest tall rock, shielding them from attacks. For now.

Raven sighed, and pulled down her hood in defeat "He's too strong. Even with your help, I cannot defeat him"

"So call for backup!" Cyborg snapped "What about all those other you's?"

"Yeah, the green one kinda kicked butt" Beast Boy pointed out.

"It still wouldn't be enough," Raven said,shaking her head "None of my other sides have the kind of power we need"

"Are you really going to let this one emotion you Raven?" Mika replied ever so softly. Raven glanced up to his pale blue, curious eyes. Although they were determined, they were as they always were. Innocent. Naive. Hopeless.

"It's much more complicated than that" The half demon sighed in defeat.

"No, it shouldn't be. It isn't" Mika shook his head "Didn't you say all of them were your emotions, yourself?"

"I did, but-"

"They're all apart of you. You can't let one silly emotion consume you. Sadness, anger..." He paused, and squeezed his fist tightly "Anxiety. You-you can't let one of them run your life. Take it from me. You know how I am"

"They're all part of who you are, right?" Beast Boy chimed in "What about working together?"

Raven glanced down at her shoes, and narrowed her eyes in thought. She didn't know what to feel at all. She didn't know what emotion quite suited her at the moment. Yet...she knew the exact one that didn't belong at all. The one that began to consume her body and soul.

Her thoughts were shaken out of her body as a violent blast drenched her in a thick layer of dirt. She coughed and waved her hand until the dust settled, revealing the Titans, her friends, charging the red demon.

"Go for it!" Cyborg yelled, as he lifted up his large, powerful cannon "We got your back"

Although Cyborg didn't quite see her face, a hidden smile formed upon her lips.

Cyborg narrowed his determined eyes and shot off a thick blue laser from his cannon. Beast Boy hopped into the air and transformed yet again into a giant pterodactyl, weaving around the multiple shots that Cyborg shot into the air. Mika hopped and banked around the jagged, pointed rocks that consumed the landscape and darted right towards the oblivious red monster. The furious demon lifted up his beefy hands, causing a storm of birds to flap from his hands and take to the sky. Cyborg widened his eyes as the barrage of birds consumed his sight, causing his shots to aimlessly pierce through the empty, barren sky that was the void. The giant flock of black birds suddenly shot down at the bare, unprotected Mika like a storm of missiles, causing the golden skinned teen to skid to a stop in shock. Like stone, his limbs froze in place, in utter terror. That bubbling feeling of horror and anxiety finally made its home in his stomach and his entire being, whether he liked it or not. Those emotions consumed him.

How ironic.

A sudden, howling scream filled the air. It didn't come from the golden skinned teen however. That scream escaped the red demon.

Mika reluctantly lifted his heads from his protective cocoon from his head and glanced up. His pale blue eyes widened, as he saw the red demon and Raven caught in an enormous struggle of power and will. It want just any old Raven however. It was a white cloaked Raven

"You are going back where you belong!" Her voice boomed throughout the empty void that was her mind, letting her powerful black energy burst from her hands and crash into the weaker force.

"Never!" The red demon proclaimed. However, even Beast Boy know the monsters cries of determination were not match. With a powerful groan, a dazzling flash of energy pulsated through Ravens fingers and consumed the red demon in her black energy. A bloody howl ripped through the air was the black energy consumed the red demon, causing it to shrink and shrink until all that was left was a dark red cape. The blood red cape however moved weakly, revealing it's unsettling, glowing red eyes. And Raven's face.

The red cloaked Raven snapped into nothing more than a thick bolt of black energy, and pierced through the white cloaked Raven. A scream escaped her mouth as the bolt consumed her body and soul. Dust shielded her body, causing the three Titans to dart to her. When the dust cleared, a tired, normal Raven sat in its place, barely standing on her own two feet. With a weak moan, she collapsed to her side. Instead of crashing to the ground, the three tired, yet satisfied Titans caught her in their arms like a giant net of friendship.

"We gotcha" Cyborg softly assured.

"It's okay" Beast Boy softly nodded, earning an bright blush from the half-demon.

"We're glad your safe" Mika nodded, as he helped Raven stand on her two feet.

Raven softly smiled and rubbled her rather sore head "Thank you...friends"

"So...we really are friends?" Beast Boy reluctantly asked.

"Mmm-hmm" Raven nodded.

"...And you really think I'm funny?"

"Don't push it"

* * *

It didn't take too long before the four Titans finally landed back safely back in Raven's room. A portal, swirl, and hop away, the Titans landed safely back into reality. In surprise to everyone, especially Beast Boy, the once shattered mirror had not even a scratch on it. It was simply the plain, old mirror it began as far before Beast Boy hit his grubby little hands on it. Raven failed to really explain how the mirror 'fixed' itself, but no one bothered to press the half-demon. Mostly due to the dead exhaustion that hung over the four Titans heads like an eternal sun.

The three boys hung behind Raven as she carefully opened the door. She blinked in surprise as she saw Starfire and Raven, caught between an odd struggle she didn't want to be informed further of.

Starfire gasped, causing Robin to crash into the wall. With a groan, he crawled back up to his feet and rubbed his sore head.

"Where have you guys been?" Robin raised his brow.

Cyborg shrugged carelessly "Just getting to know each other"

No matter how much she fought it, Raven couldn't help but bring a tiny smile to her face.

"Come, friends!" Starfire exclaimed, clapping her hands together "We shall prepare a new breakfast feast"

"It's a little late for breakfast, Star," Beast Boy let his eyes wander to the softly smiling Raven "Maybe just some herbal tea"

"Actually, breakfast sounds...nice" Raven admitted. Beast Boy could hardly believe his ears. He first blinked in utter shock, letting the words settle into his head. When the words finally clicked together, a huge, goofy smile consumed his entire face. With flashing, joyful eyes, he pumped his fist proudly into the air.

"Breakfast for dinner? Coming up!" Beast Boy exclaimed as he ran off down the hall.

"Oh, no! I'm cooking this time!" Cyborg yelled, charging right after the go happy changeling "We're having real eggs!"

A soft, yet bubbly giggle was shared between the magical half-demon and the pale blue eyes sorcerer. Robin couldn't help but raise a brow at the situation. Raven giggling? Mika giggling? Raven and Mika giggling together? It was enough to set a few bells off in his head.

"Are you guys ok?" Robin asked doubtfully.

"Yeah, yeah," Mika swiftly nodded.

"Everything is...good" Raven added in. Before Robin could ask another question however, Starfire latched onto his free, bare arm and helplessly dragged him away.

"Come! We must help with the feast!" Starfire exclaimed as she yanked the defenseless Robin around a corner, leaving the two Titans alone in the hall.

"So...uh..." Mika mumbled, anxiously rubbing his arm.

"Yeah..." Raven muttered as she let her eyes wander off down the hall.

"Are you going to be alright?" Mika asked.

"I will" Raven responded.

"Are you sure?"

"...Yeah. I'm sure," Raven assured. Moments later, her friendly, warm smile fell from her face, replaced by that frown she seems to have at all times "Why do you always ask?"

Mika blinked in surprise, taken aback by her sudden question. Seconds later, he feverishly shook the shock from his face, replacing it with a anxious blush "I-I don't know...It's just a habit I tended to grow on, I-I-I suppose. I-I don't know what else to say in awkward and tense situations," his eyes widened, causing his hands to flail carelessly into the air "Not-not that I don't care! I do! I really do! I just-"

Raven gently raised her pale palm into the air, causing the flustered golden skinned boy to tightly lock his lips in place.

"I think that's enough" Raven frowned. Leaving silence in the air, she hurled her hood over her head, and began her trek to the common room.

"And Mika,"

"Yes?" He curiously asked.

"You'll grow out of this someday"

"...Yeah"

* * *

 **Thank you both of** **guests and** **Neo Tastsuji aka Zeta Master for your reviews!**

 **Guest 2: Regarding the fans...maybe it was a subconscious reference? I'll admit I was a fan of Code Lyoko when I was younger, and still think of it of it from time to time, but I've pretty much forgotten all about it (I just remember Xana and Jeremy, to be honest...). When I was creating Mika, I just thought the fans fit in with his character, nothing more than that. So, like I said before, it wasn't really intentional. It's cool though, but not intentional.**

 **So, uh, yeah...sorry that I haven't posted in a while. I did say on my profile I was pretty much taking a break throughout September. College kinda got to me and basically punched me in the face with papers and stuff, and I got inspired to start writing a book I've wanted to put on paper for a while. (If your interested, I got the first few chapters posted on Wattpad account. Details on my profile). I'm back though! I hope this chapter will suffice for when I was missing! (No, really. This is probably the longest chapter I've ever written for a story. I was shocked when I saw the freaking word count...). Updates will be the same. I'll make an effort to always update on a Friday so it's a bit more regular.**

 **I also know that I skipped "The Sum of His Parts", but...I did that intentionally. I tried thinking of ways to twist around the episode and make it different, but I couldn't think of any great ideas without changing the role of Fix-it. I didn't want to make him a pure villain because it would take away the purpose of that episode. Other ideas just put Mika in the spot light too much, and I didn't want that either. Since it wasn't a core episode that wouldn't anything in future episodes (Like "Sisters" did), nor was it an episode I was particularly fond of, I came to the best conclusion that I would just skip it. It's better that I did that then try to shove out something.**

 **Anyways, I really hope you enjoyed! I loved writing this chapter, it's probably my favorite out of the first season. Reviews are always appreciated!**

 **\- X-Xepher-X**


	7. Switched

Mika felt so close he could almost taste it.

Like a log, he laid perfectly straight on his circular rug, letting the candles that surrounded his entire body warm his icy cold skin. His pale blue eyes were firmly closed, his hands in tight fists. He took a deep, silent breath and rose his chest high into the air. Like a balloon, he let his warm breath escape his lips and curl into the cold breeze. It seemed that the only sound that filled his able ears was the cracking flames from the melting wax of the candles.

Although all was nearly quiet and dark in his little room, it still felt warm and comfortable to him, even if wasn't normally fond of the dark. Yet, it was enough to quell his normally frantic, beating heart that seemed to want to burst out of his chest everyday.

At least until a rapid knock slammed into his ears.

His pale blue eyes snapped wide open as he shot up, stumbling to his feet. A squeak escaped his throat as he nearly planted his hand a brightly lit candle, angrily burning the the wick and ready to toast everything in sight. He frantically scanned his candles, deciding whether he should put them out and make his unknown guest wait awkwardly longer, or leave them there and let awkward questions of why he even had candles in the first place.

Without a thought, the incredibly frazzled Mika scooped out a handful of his tall, white candles and feverishly blew them out. Tossing them frantically on his desk, he ran out for more. At least until the knocking returned.

"J-just a-a-a minute!" He stuttered out incoherently. He could already feel his stomach turn and twist like it always did when he was frantic. Even his heart felt like it was about to jump from his chest and run away from everything that made him annoyingly anxious. Right as he was about to scoop another handful of candles into his arms, he shook his head. In an instant, he bolted to the door, refusing to hear another knock. Little did he know, a flaming candle tumbled into his carpet.

The golden skinned teen swung the door open, revealing the bright eyed, smiling Tamaranian.

"H-hi Starfire…" Mika awkwardly waved his hand "What-what do you need?"

"Hello Mika, please-" Starfire was about to say, until her expression dropped. She carefully peaked over the incredibly nervous Mika, and saw smoke peak over his shoulder. Not to mention the smell of burning clothes. Or rather, the carpet.

A nervous tear of sweat immediately ran down her face, although it was no match for Mika's incredibly teary face.

"Mika, I do not wish to frighten you, however…" she pointed into her room "I believe your room is on fire"

"Huh?" Mika croaked. He squinted his eyes and sniffed the smoky air a few times before he turned around and saw the mess he created. His pale blue eyes immediately shot open as he saw bright flames consume his carpet, and crawling ever so dangerously to his book case. He squeaked in absolute shock, and darted towards his mess.

It didn't take long for the nervous sorcerer to put out the carpet fire. A quick tug of the carpet and a few yanks through the air, the fire dissipated in a flash. Except for the giant, charred hole that was burned into the edge. So, on his knees, he desperately clung onto the warm piece of carpet. Then the edge fell apart in his slightly singed hands.

He groaned and buried his head into the carpet in absolute shame.

Starfire curiously floated up towards the utterly embarrassed golden skinned boy. She didn't know whether to ask her question or not, considering how...sad Mika looked.

"Er..." Starfire muttered as she glanced across the burned carpet.

"What...what did you need?" Mika asked in a low, absolute destroyed voice as he clung onto his carpet like it was his child. Even if he did just buy it at a local store.

"Yes!" The Tamaranian explained "Have you seen Robin?"

"I-I haven't..."

"What about Cyborg?"

"Not him either..."

"...Beast Boy?"

"Oh right," Mika blinked in realization. In an instant, he set down his carpet and glanced up at Starfire "Never mind, I do know where they are. They all went out for a boy's day out, or something like that...I-I really don't know"

"But they are not here, correct?" Starfire asked.

Mika shook his head "N-No"

"Why did you not join them on their brotherly adventure?" the Tamaranian asked ever so innocently "Or, did they not ask you to join?"

Mika sighed, and let his pale blue eyes wander away to his shoes "No, they-they did ask. I-I said I was busy but...I didn't want to go"

Starfire furrowed her brows in confusion "Why is that? You always take pleasure in accompanying me to the mall of shopping"

"Yeah, but that's different," With another sigh, he hopped onto the edge of his bed, letting his head sink into his shoulders "You're always talking, it's easy. With them...I really don't know what to say. It's quieter with them. I just don't think I have anything to talk about with them. It's-It's just awkward"

Mika let his cheeks turn a rosy pink and nearly consume his entire face. He knew he didn't explain the entirety of his little situation with people, but he didn't need to. Starfire was clever enough to figure out what the anxious sorcerer was really trying to say. So, with a light, warm smile, he floated up to his bed and sat next to him.

"Why must you be so...afraid? They are your friends" Starfire tilted her head curiously.

"I-I don't know..." Mika furrowed his thick brows "I've been like this ever since..."

He let his words sit into the silent air, as though he refused to even finish the sentence. Mainly because he did.

Mika quickly shook his head and jumped off the bed "It-it doesn't matter. It's fine. The point is, it' s easier to say I won't be shy than it is not to be shy"

Starfire opened her mouth to protest, but immediately closed it. She didn't want another incident like when the sorcerer first came to the tower. It pained her to see Mika think so little of himself back then. She just hoped he thought better of himself now.

She washed off the concern from her face, and jumped up from the bed "Would you like to go to the mall of shopping with me?"

The sorcerer blinked a few times before the question finally registered with him "Oh, um, yes. That would be nice. I need...a new rug anyways"

Starfire squealed in delight as she grasped onto Mika arm "We shall ask Raven!"

"Wha-" Before he could say another word, the wind was knocked right out of him. In a quick, bone stalling yank, happily dragged him through the halls. With another happy giggle, she burst into the common room. Mika watched as the blue cloaked Raven floated ever so peacefully at the edge of the tower, letting the sun and blue sky soak into her face. At least until, Starfire burst in. It seemed like Raven's head sunk into her chest as soon as the happy Tamaranian took her first step into the room.

"Raven?" Starfire asked "Please forgive my interruption, but would you like to go to the mall of shopping with me and Mika?"

"No" Raven swiftly replied.

"I-I think we should go now..." Mika anxiously whispered.

Starfire ignored him "Why not? Perhaps we could go to your favorite bookstore"

"No"

"Then perhaps we-" Starfire cut herself off as she saw Raven lower her head even further down in her chest in a boiling frustrated mess "You wish to be alone?"

"How could you tell?" Raven said in a composed voice, but even Mika could feel the dagger like glares that shot out of her eyes.

"Shall we go?" Starfire asked, causing Mika to nod.

With that, Raven continue her peaceful chant "Azarath Metrion Zinth-"

Right as Starfire and Mika opened the door, Cyborg came barreling through with a giant grin and a box in his hands.

"MAIL CALL!" He called out at the top of his lungs.

The half-demon instantly released a shocked cry, causing her to fall right to the ground in an annoyed mess. No one bothered to check her, not even Mika. Instead, the Titans rushed to Cyborg in curiosity.

"Robin! Cyborg! Beast Boy! You are back!," Starfire exclaimed as she rushed towards Cyborg "It was...quiet while you were gone"

"Not that quiet..." Raven softly growled as she brushed her cloak clean of dust.

Mika approached the giant crate in utter curiosity. Not even when Cyborg hurled the heavy box on the table did he jump or yelp in surprise. His interest only consumed his mind.

"Who is it from?" Mika asked.

"Check it out. This was sitting by the front door. Fan mail-probably a gift from one of my many admirers," Beast Boy raised his brow ever so seductively. As seductively as a green skinned, long eared, sharp toothed teenager could. Either way, it was enough to make Raven's dark eyes roll.

"Actually, it doesn't say who it's from" Robin explained.

"Well, one way to find out" Cyborg said. As the Titans crowded around him like a pack of cold, huddling penguins, he ripped the lid clean off the box.

"Whoa!" Cyborg exclaimed.

"Cool!" Robin grinned, earning a giggle from Starfire.

"Honestly, I was kinda hoping for chocolate..." Beast Boy raised his brow in disappointment.

Cyborg reached into the box and pulled out a small, homemade puppet. With a red, glowing eye, intricate inorganic legs, and metal everywhere, it looked exactly like the dark skinned teen himself. Apart from the lack of actual metal, of course

"Aww, isn't that cute? Puppet Cy has a light-up eye" Cyborg said, nearly giggling like some school girl gushing over her crush.

Robin pulled out his own puppet and began to carefully inspect it. A grin crossed his face as he gently pulled at the his copy's belt, causing a string to pop out "Yeah. They got all the details just right"

"Speak for yourself," Beast Boy scoffed, yanking his copy around "I'm way better looking than this-and taller"

Mika carefully grabbed his from the box and glanced over it with fascination. Robin was right, whoever made the puppet certainly got everything right. From the long yarn hair to the faded clothes, it seemed as though the creator of the puppet shrunk his wardrobe. They had a small-napkin like version of his little blanket like sash that hung over the copy's body. They even had tiny little black and gold fans stuffed into its pockets. Mika couldn't help but smile. The puppet certainly had a lot of care put into it.

Raven thought otherwise.

Raven simply let the puppet sit lazily in her hand, as an uninterested look crossed her face.

"Someone certainly has a lot of time on their hands" Raven mumbled.

Starfire giggled as she swung her copy around her hands, letting the puppet's smile shine as bright as the sun "I have never seen such a whimsical device"

"Hello, Starfire!" The Tamaranian proclaimed in a deep, voice "Hello, tiny wooden replica of Starfire!" She turned to Mika, who was attempting to uncover how the puppet actually moved "Hello tiny wooden replica of Mika!"

"Why, hello Starfire" Mika slowly lifted up the puppets arm and shook the replica of Starfire. They both quickly giggled as they attempted to make their replicas shake with their other hands. The two Titans quickly glanced to the side, letting their sight fill with a dog pile of puppets from none other than the boys. Starfire immediately widened her eyes as a new idea crossed her head.

"Boys..." Raven shook her head in disappointment.

"Shall my and Mika's tiny replica do battle with your tiny replica?" Starfire suggested with a bright, ever so innocent smile.

Raven simply sighed and tossed her puppet into Starfire's hand like trash "Knock yourself out"

Starfire raised his brow in confusion as Raven fled into the hallway, leaving the fun and excitement that came from the puppets. She didn't understand why Raven couldn't find enjoyment in the little wooden puppets. No, she couldn't understand. She knew Raven wasn't the most...friendly individual in the world, but even so...

Would it kill her to enjoy something with the rest of her friends once in awhile?

* * *

"There we go…"

Mika mumbled ever so quietly under his breath as he yanked out new rug into the air, causing to flatten within mere seconds. With a small smile, he flipped it into the air and let it glide down safely to the floor. Sure, his room still stunk of burning yarn and perhaps wood even if his former rig was tossed aside, but it wasn't anything a few scented candles couldn't solve.

Satisfied, the golden skinned teen put his hands on his hips and glanced over to his new little puppet, propped up against his bookshelf. He grew rather fond of his double, even if he received it mere hours ago. There was something about it he found comforting. He didn't know exactly what, but he didn't care. He just liked it.

Right as he lifted his covers, a soft, white glow appeared across the wall. He squinted in confusion. He knew he turned off all his lamps, and his lights never simply turned themselves on. His eyes grew wider as he slowly turned around to the mysterious lights source.

He gasped.

As Mika delt with the mysterious light in his room, Starfire wandered around aimlessly throughout the tower, searching for whatever spooky her awake.

"Is someone there?" She called out as her shoulders huddled together in slight fear. She shuttered as she heard a chuckle echo throughout the tower

Starfire's ears perked up causing her eyes to draw to the door "Huh? f this is a joke, it is not-"

She opened the door and screamed.

It was only moments later that her screams quelled into silent breaths of relief. That dark, evil cloak she first laid her eyes on became a cloak that belonged to none other than the half-demon, who was also momentary frightened.

"Raven!" Starfire exclaimed "You have also heard the strange noises?"

"The strange noises of you talking outside my door? Hard to miss" Raven replied bluntly.

"Oh..." The alien girl blushed "Forgive me, I thought there was someone-"

Suddenly, a thick beam of light blue energy shot just fight above their heads, and crashed far into the wall. As dust billowed in the air, the two Titans snapped their heads down the hall, only to see Cyborg. Starfire felt relief cross over her at first, but then she drew to his eyes. His empty, blue glowing eyes.

Robin and Beast Boy darted down the hall, charging the two Titans. As Beast Boy transformed into a dinosaur, Robin leapt into the air and sent a kick right towards Starfire. The Tamaranian girl gasped as she ducked, sending Robin to slam and tumblr across the ground like an old rag doll. Right as the green dinosaur unhinged his jaws, Raven let dark energy seep through her fingers, forming a sturdy shield.

"Beast Boy, it's me!" Raven called out "Don't make me hurt you!"

Suddenly, two gold and black fans wizzed into the air, and banked right behind Raven shield. Raven cried in pain as the two sharp fans nicked her fleshy arms, causing her shield to dissipate into thin air.

"Raven!" Starfire called out. Right as she leapt into the air, Robin shot one of his discs straight into the air. In an instant, the disc exploded, sending Starfire straight to the ground. Right as she was about to slam harshly into the ground, the unattentive Cyborg caught her by her collar, as though she was a fish and he was the fisherman.

A thick, green tail slammed right into Raven, causing her to slam back first into the wall. A crack escaped her throat as Cyborg yanked her from the ground, pinning her right under his thick, unmoving arm .

"Let me go!" Raven yelled as she struggled to shake her way out. The three other listless Titans simply walked by her, was though she wasn't even there. Their glowing, blue eyes simply stared into nothingness.

"Friends! Why do you attack us?" Starfire cried out.

"Oh. They're not your friends anymore" a mysterious voice called from the darkness.

The two gasped as a small, wooden puppet emerged from the darkness, with slick, wooden hair and hinged mouth. It looked like any other puppet that was put on the shelf. Including the ones they received in the mail.

It didn't take long to put the pieces together.

"They are my puppets," the Puppet King announced "These are your friends"

From behind his back, he pulled out four puppets that dangled loosely in his wooden fingers. The Titan boys.

"Starfire!" Robin called out in a weak, muffled voice

"Raven!" Cyborg's little eye glowed

"Help!" Beast Boy cried.

The puppet that looked like Mika stayed awfully silent. Too silent.

"Release them!" Raven growled.

"Sorry, but you're not in charge here. You don't command me" the Puppet King swung their puppet friend like little toys, something to use. In an instant, he took out his white crosspiece remote and pumped it into the air as high as his wooden body would allow.

"I command you" he called out. As groan escaped the two Titan girls as their faces and mouths began to glow bright, as though someone stuck a night light within their body.

"And with the Puppet King pulling the strings, the Teen Titans will command the entire city" The Puppet King proclaimed.

At least until a giant force shoved him into the ground.

It all happened so fast. Like a giant burst of wind, the Puppet King was knocked clean off his feet as the two Titans souls began to leech into his remote. His little control panel flew across the ground, far out of reach.

"My control!" He cried out. It was too late. The two souls shot up from his remote and danced straight to the nearest body it could find. By the time the Puppet King sprinted to his remote, the two Titans were nothing more than shadows on the wall.

"After them" The puppet growled. Like stringed puppets themselves, the Titan boys bodies floated to their feet. They were ready to take anything down their master desired.

As the Titans bodies searched diligently for their two remaining teammates, the two girls swung into the nearest basement and slammed the door cleanly shut.

As the Titans bodies searched diligently for their two remaining teammates, the two girls swung into the nearest basement and slammed the door cleanly shut. They held their mouths tightly shut as the sound of feet crashing right above them passed by, like an eerie sound that spelled their certain death. Starfire released a silent sigh of relief as the controlled Titans passed right by them.

"The boys! Raven! What are we going to-" Starfire was about to exclaim. At least until Raven pulled the lights on.

She gasped.

Instead of the Raven Starfire knew and loved, she...stated back at herself? She quickly glanced down at her hands. Sure enough, her own hands didn't belong to her. They belonged to Raven.

"Starfire?" Starfire's body asked, in Raven's familiar voice.

"Raven?" Starfire released a horrified gasp "You are me! And I am you!"

"Raven? Starfire?"

The two Titans whipped their heads around, causing the Tamaranian girl to gasp and the half-demon to raise her brow.

"Mika?" Raven asked doubtfully. Instead of the fleshy Mika that pranced around attacking them only moments ago, the golden skinned teen that stood right in front of her was only a faint, transparent ghost like entity. Or rather, floated right in front of them.

The transparent Mika squinted in contagion "Raven? Is-Is that you?"

"Friend Mika!" Starfire exclaimed "Why are you not solid?"

"And why did you attack us earlier?"

Mika sighed "That-that wasn't me. Somehow the puppet guy took my body, along with our other friends. This form your seeing right now is called my Astral form. It's like being able to control where one's soul goes, either inside or outside the body. I suppose you could say I'm talking to you from another world close to this one. Any-anyhow, I was lucky enough to go in this form before my body was taken over, but I'm pretty much useless in my Astral form so...sorry. I-I-I was the one who pushed him and knocked the remote o-out of his hand. I-I-I'm sorry about all this, with your bodies and all. I need to get back to my own body soon or I'll-"

"We don't have time to dwell on the past," Raven cut through Mika's long apology "We need to get moving"

Mika's eyes widened "R-right"

Suddenly a loud squeal escape Starfire, causing thick, black energy to escape her forehead and shatter the light bulb. In seconds, the three lost Titans were consumed in darkness.

* * *

It wasn't long before the two switched Titans and the Titans without a body made it up to the surface of Jump City. Sure, Starfire rattled nearly everything in sight with her new found powers in Raven's body, but it failed to attract their puppeted friends. So, without another thought to stop the three, the Titans wandered across the city, in search of a plan.

If Starfire wouldn't stop freaking out.

Oh, Raven! Oh Mika!" She exclaimed dramatically "This is awful! Terribly, horribly awful!"

"It could be...Yeah, it is…" Mika was about to defend, yet the courage within his tall, lanky body was not enough to sustain his optimism. The problem was that he didn't have a body, but instead a ghost-like projection that floated across the sidewalk.

"Tell me about it" Raven muttered. She didn't know what to make of her newfound body. She couldn't help but squeezes her shoulders together and cling onto her arms, as though she was freezing cold within the Tamaranian's body. Starfire revealed too much skin for her taste. She was also significantly taller than her. It was a win-lose situation in the mind of the half-demon.

"Robin, Cyborg, and Beast Boy have been trapped inside tiny wooden bodies, while a nasty creature called the Puppet King has taken control of their real bodies," Starfire began to rant.

"Starfire…" Mika mumbled in anxiety.

As her worry and concern spilled out of her body, street lamps began to creak and cower at her command. Newspapers flew out of their stands like leaves falling off of trees. Mail boxes began to melt into shiny, thin puddles "which he is using to hunt us down, and you and I are in the wrong bodies and-"

"Starfire!" Raven clapped her hand over her mouth "You have to calm down. My powers are driven by emotion. The more you feel, the more energy you unleash"

"But what if they find us? What if our friends are doomed? What if I am stuck looking like this forever?" Starfire spit out like a Pez Dispenser.

Raven placed her hands onto Starfire's shoulders, or rather her own "We'll fix it. I don't know how, but we will rescue the boys and we will get our bodies back," She paused and raised her brow "What's wrong with the way I look?"

"Nothing" Starfire squeaked. Her words were immediately smashed down as a pedestrian sign exploded.

"You-you need to calm down Starfire" Mika said, earning a nod.

"I will try to calm down," Starfire took a long, deep breath and softly closed her brilliant green eyes. The tense muscles within her face began to relax, causing her pale skin to melt within the darkness of the cloak "Peace...quiet...tranquil-"

Mika squealed and floated behind Raven as a car flipped far into the air, shot up by her dark energy. In an instant, it crashed straight into the ground, letting its alarm blare out in the empty streets of Jump City

Raven face planted into her hand "We are so doomed"

"Beast Boy!" Starfire called out. The three Titans snapped their heads up, revealing a painfully green falcon. The falcon swooped through the air, its feathers illuminated by the giant moon that sat in the air. Suddenly, the falcon clenched its giant claws, and charged the three Titans.

"You mean zombie Beast Boy," Raven clenched onto Starfire's hand and yanked her "Run!

Starfire immediately reached out for Mika. When her hand dove for Mika, her fleshy, warm hand slipped right through his transparent hand like it was air. Mika immediately reacted his transparent hand and shook his hand in disappointment.

"It-It doesn't work," Mika muttered, cowering his hands close to his useless body "I-I-I told you, I can't do anything like this"

"Yes you can!" Raven growled back, causing Mika's eyes to widen "The others are probably looking for us too. Warn us! Or distract them!"

Before Mika could say another word, she dragged the helpless Starfire behind a wall. Mika's transparent, thin hands began to shake like a leaf. It was own thing during against villains, but against his friends? The thought of even throwing his fans at them made him want to cower into a corner.

Yet, he had no choice. If he wanted to save his all of his friends, he had to take the risk. He couldn't afford to not too.

He clenched his fist.

Mika glanced up into the night sky as a loud, shrill crow escaped the air. He watched as the lifeless Beast Boy searched for his prey, as though the two female Titans were juicy mice for his picking.

He instantly darted down the alley and made a corner. His eyes lit up as he floated near a pile of old, rusted cans. Without another thought, he attempted to pick up the pile of cans. As though a thick wind rushed by, the cans were swept off their giant pile and crashed into the ground.

Mika gasped as the green falcon fixated on his position and quickly swooped down to the source of the noise. As though Mika was a figment of the controlled Beast Boy's imagination, the falcon swept right through the transparent Mika. With a confident grin, he quickly fled the scene.

Right as he banked the corner, he saw a dark, large shadow sweep across the illuminated pavement. He snapped his head up, revealing the boy wonder darting across the rooftops high above his head. Mika quickly galited to the nearest dumper and rammed right through it. By the time he melted out from the other side, the giant dumpster rocked violently into the wall. In an instant, Robin jumped obliviously from the roof and crashed into the floor.

Mika fled the scene as though Robin carried some kind of disease.

He frantically darted through corners and walls, until he caught a glimpse of a dark, long cloak. He instantly floated right to a stop, and saw Raven and Starfire weaving through corners.

"Raven! Starfire!" He called out at the top of his lungs. Within mere seconds, he floated right next to the two Titans, who his safely behind a wall.

"Mika!" Starfire exclaimed in relief.

"I managed to distract Beastboy and Robin for the time being" Mika said quickly.

"What about your body? And Cyborg?" Raven asked.

Mika's face fell "Oh…I-"

Suddenly, the wall crashed into itself, causing the three to squeal in shock. Starfire and Mika's eyes widened as Cyborg's lifeless, stern face emerge from the brick wall, as though his face was nothing more than a mount. A shared horrified squeal sliced through the air as the three darted away from the rather frightening Cyborg.

"Wait for me, please!" Starfire screamed out, quickly scrambling to her friends sides. They frantically rounded a corner, only to meet their ultimate demise. A dead end.

Mika quickly snapped his head around, causing his eyes to widen. Even in his current firm, he couldn't help but curl his arms up tight to his chest as his friends as puppets of friends closed in on him. Like soulless zombies, the tyre Titans, including Mika's own body closed in onto them like bees to honey.

"If I can't fly, you have to levitate," Raven suddenly snapped "You know those words I always-"

"Yes!" Starfire exclaimed, taking a deep breath.

"Wait! You have to focus!" Raven pleaded. Even the golden skinned teen knew it was too late.

Starfire spit out the words as though they were on fire "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Raven clung on helplessly as Starfire burst high into the air in her own body. Mika anxiously watched as the two screamed at the top of their lungs as they helplessly floated through the night air. Within seconds, the two female Titans became nothing more than specks in the sky.

Until those specks came crashing straight down.

"Raven! Starfire!" Mika cried. In an island, he frantically floated to his friends, weaving through building after building, corner after corner. He couldn't help but gasp as his controlled friends flew right past him, either darting across the roof or simply punching through walls. With no real body to do such things, he let a worried squeal, escape his throat.

Relief filled his face as he turned a corner, revealing Starfire and Raven quietly hiding behind a pile of trash bags.

"Ra-" he was about to call out.

"Shhh!" Raven snapped back, lifting her finger to her mouth. Mika quickly nodded, causing him to softly close his eyes. Within seconds, his slightly transparent figure became utterly invisible.

The sound of empty foot steps filled his ears, as though a small army filled the alley. Mika couldn't help but shake slightly, as though he was as transparent as a traffic cone on a bright, sunny day.

"Peace, quiet, tranquility...peace, quiet, tranquility" He heard Starfire recite.

"It's all right. They're goi-" Raven was about to assure. Suddenly, She slapped her hand right over Starfire's mouth. The two Titans slowly lifted their eyes up, revealing a small, green mouse. It's empty, blue eyes simply stated into the distance as its nose lead it across the mountainous landscape that was the trash bags. A tear of sweat ran down Starfire's face, as he lip trembled within Raven's hand. It felt like with one breath, they would have been goners.

"Enough!" A voice called out, causing Beast Boy to lift his small head. He pounced off the trash bag and transformed back into his human form, along with his other controlled friends. The two Titans slowly peeked their heads above the pile of trash, revealing none other than the Puppet King.

"We will catch the other two after the ceremony is complete" The Puppet King announced.

"Ceremony?" Robin softly said, lifting his wooden head.

"What ceremony?" Cyborg croaked out.

"Just a little spell that will destroy you three," he lifted up his delightful pile of wooden puppets, right to his empty, beady eyes "and make your bodies mine. Come, my puppets"

With his final words, he began his trek back into the darkness of the city. Like loyal zombies, the controlled Titans slowly followed him, until they became nothing more than shadows on the wall.

Right as Mika heard the last faint foot step, he immediately rushed to the Raven and Starfire "Are you alright? You-you flew up pretty high back there"

Raven sighed in response. Within seconds, she dug her nails into her new, tangled hair, scraping off whatever got tightly tangled within it "How can you stand having this much hair?"

Starfire shrugged.

"A ceremony..." Mika trailed off, letting his thoughts run ramped within his mind. It all sounded too familiar to him. Moving dolls. Soulless bodies. Souls attracted to dolls. He couldn't help but feel a new found anxiousness as his realization crawled further and further up to the surface of his mind.

His pale blue eyes widened.

"He's going to get rid of their souls..." Mika realized in horror.

"What did you say?" Raven raised her brow in curiosity.

"The Puppet King, I know the ceremony he's going to perform. I've read about it before in one of my books and I was young. He's to take the bodies of our friends through the ceremony. He's going to..." He furrowed his brows, as though the words were begging to say in his mind "He's going to burn their souls"

The Tamaranian gasped.

"Quickly, Raven! Our friends are in danger!" Starfire shot up to her feet "We must follow and-"

Starfire gasped as she felt a hand forcefully tug her back. She snapped her head around, revealing a rather disappointed Raven who simply shook her head.

"And what? Save them with my unusable powers while your unbridled emotions blow us to bits?" Raven sarcastically snapped "Nice flying, by the way"

"At least I am able to fly!" Starfire angrily responded, narrowing her newfound dark eyes "On my planet, even a newborn can unleash the joy of flight. But you are too busy being grumpy and rude to feel anything at all!"

The half-demon sighed, crossing her arms "Maybe you haven't noticed, but my emotions are dangerous. I can't afford to feel anything. You may have my body, but you know nothing about me"

Mika coaxed his eyebrows "I know we're not in the best-"

"Perhaps you are right," Starfire suddenly rang in, causing Mika spake blue eyes to widen "And if you and I are to overcome this ordeal, we must know everything about each other. So...begin sharing"

Raven let a small smile frame her face "All right" she released a deep sigh, letting her plans relax "I was born in a place called Azarath..."

Her words simply melted away right as they entered Mika's ears. No matter how hard he tried to listen, he simply couldn't. Worry ate at his mind. If he was right, his friends could have been nothing more than ashes at that point. His friends could have been soulless puppets, weaning on every little command that puppet gave them. His body could have been waiting for him to return. He knew he didn't have much time left. If he didn't get back to his body soon...

"And that is how I arrived to earth" Starfire's voice suddenly rang through Mika's ears, causing him to snap his head up from his aching thoughts.

"Hm?" He blinked a few times. His eyes only grew wider as Starfire and Raven let their eyes wander right at the golden skinned teen himself. It didn't take very long for him to out the pieces together.

Mika's face turned a rather rosy link as he frantically waved his hands in the air "I-I-I can't! It's fine! I don't have reason t-t-to! We should get going, anyhow"

No matter how much he pleaded, Starfire and Raven stared at him expectantly, waiting for him to spill his guts out on a platter. That's what it felt like to the golden skinned teen, anyways.

The longer his anxiety simmered in his stomach, the more he began to notice their eyes. Although their bodies were completely switched, they had the same, glimmering eyes. Glimmering eyes that were filled with disappointment.

It was the same disappointment he saw within his own eyes all his life. Towards himself.

He gave a deep breath and sighed.

"Alright..." He let his pale blue eyes wander to the ground "Where to begin..."

"You do not need to speak of everything, if it is too much" Starfire assured, yet Mika quickly shook his head.

"No, no, you were right. If we want to get our friends back, we need to share everything. We need to understand eachother. No matter how much it pains us" Mika assured, before he let silence cling onto the air around him.

"I was born in England. My father was a doctor who traveled across the world to help small communities. He never thought he would bring back my mother from India and marry her. When I was 3, we moved to a small community in India to join an enclave for people who practiced the Mystic Arts. You see, my mother practiced the Mystic Arts, as a result she wanted to expose my father and me to her ways," a smile crossed his face "I remember when I received my fans. They were a gift from my mother. I thought they were far too feminine at first, any little bit would have thought that. After time...they grew on me..."

He frowned "When I was 7...a group of people attacked our enclave and killed a lot of our people who struggled against them violently . My mother was pregnant at the time with my brother, so me and my father tried to fend them off but...it didn't work. My family and I were kidnapped and sent to work in some gold mines as slaves, along with the survivors of my community. My brother Soma was essentially born into slavery...but, my mother managed to hide his existence, and when she wasn't working, taught us both more about the Mystic Arts as well as some other people from our former community. It wasn't long before I wasn't sent to work in the mines however..."

Mika's fists began to gently shake, as though the thoughts in his mind sent needles in his chest "There were times where me and my father almost died from our exhaustion. We worked endlessly through the day, with little food or water. But our kidnappers didn't care. We were expendable. If my mother wasn't assigned to laundry and cooking, I'm sure my father and I would have been in our graves. We made the most out of our situation. Soma was so innocent of the things that occurred around him, yet...I loved him for that. But...when I was 13..."

A single tear fell from his face. It nearly melted in his ghost-like face.

"There was a mine accident near the living communities. A part of a cliff came down and swallowed up many of the shacks. I was out doing work at the time while my father and mother fell ill, and Soma was still in hiding. It...It consumed my entire family. Our kidnappers didn't bother to look through the rubble. They were consumed by money and expenses. As much as I hated them for that, I knew my family was...gone. I...ran away. I thought I couldn't trust anyone. I think this was the time I became so apprehensive of people. I wandered around from country to country, searching for a way to empty my mind of my indentured servitude. So...that's how I ended up in Jump City. And met people who I can confidently call friends"

He did something he never thought he would do. One minute he was wiping a transparent tear from his eye, the next he was bent over willingly on his knees, causing his thick, wavy hair curtain his eyes. He didn't cover his face because his pale blue eyes because they were ready to burst with tears. But because a warm, rosy blush coated his face. And it wasn't from embersassent.

"Thank you"

* * *

It didn't take long for the Titans to find the hideout of the Puppet King. It wasn't too difficult to find, anyhow. The curling, faint blue smoke that billowed from an old abandoned theatre was a dead give away for Mika.

The golden skinned teen carefully floated across the giant fountain that stood willingly in front of the theatre. Invisible to his friends as the green Doberman that carefully sniffed around, Mika scoured the door, attempting to find a way in. With a sigh, he retreated to the stone fountain, where Starfire and Raven carefully peaked from.

"It's not safe to go through the door with Beast Boy around," Mika said in disappointment "I couldn't find another entrance either"

"We'll have to try the roof" Raven announced. Her newly found brilliant green eyes widened as she felt a cold hand creep up her arm. She couldn't believe how icy her skin felt

"Agreed. Now, do just as I instructed. Close your eyes and think of something joyful" Starfire commanded. She frowned once Raven sighed and rolled her eyes.

"You might choose flowers, or kittens, or the laughter of children, or-"

Before she could finish her suggestions, Raven gently flew into the air. Mika couldn't help but bring a smile of his face as he watched the quiet Raven drag up Starfire high into the air, far from the prying eyes of their controlled friend. He quickly shook his head from his thoughts and followed suit.

"Very, very good!" Starfire exclaimed joyously as she softly landed into the roof "What was your joyful thought?"

"You don't want to know..." Raven trailed off.

"Oh, but I do. Please tell me. What did you imagine?" Starfire pushed. Raven sighed as Starfire clapped her hands together, begging for an answer.

"You not talking" the half-demon bluntly admitted.

"Oh," Starfire blinked in surprise, not knowing whether to feel joyous or put down by her comment "Well...I am glad I was able to help"

"Your turn," Raven command, taking a step back "Find your center. Focus your energy on the lock"

Starfire nodded. She softly closed her dark eyes and raise her hands ever so delicately into the air. Within moments, her hands began to softly glow with black energy above the iron trapdoor. Her dark energy began to crawl across the door and onto the thick, shiny lock.

"Azarath...Metrion..Zinthos..." She quickly snapped her hands apart, causing the lock to break apart.

"Wow, it worked" Mika widened his eyes as Starfire giggled in glee.

Raven raised her brow in amusement "Nice work"

Starfire squealed in delight "Success!" Right as the words left her mouth, the giant trapdoor flung wide open.

"Nice work..." The half-demon mumbled.

Raven and Mika slowly floated in as Starfire hopped through the open trap door, revealing a long, iron catwalk that sprawled across the entire theatre. Immediately, the scent of festering smoke and fire filled their noses. Well, in the very least the Tamerianian and the half-demon.

"Search and destroy" a faint voice filled their ears. Starfire almost gasped in realization, not before Raven slapped her hand over her mouth once again.

The three carefully followed a faint, blue light that softly illuminated the empty theatre. They turned a corner, revealing a tall, curling blue fire, along with the Puppet King. The Puppet King let his tall, dangerous creation lick his face, as though the flames were too afraid to even char any of his body. Not even his controlled minions dared to run to save their so-called master from the blue fire.

"You see that fire?" Mika quietly whispered, as he carefully pointed at its angry flames "It's part of his ceremony. We need to put it out before he throws our friends in there or...their souls will be burned up. And he'll take our friends bodies"

"Why not take them as of now?" Starfire asked "In your current form, you could perhaps sneak past him and take our friends back"

Mika sighed, "I-I-I can't get close to the f-fire, or I may get burned up. It's far too risky for me. Sorry..."

"Then we'll have to put out the flames and take that remote of his if we want to stop him" Raven announced, earning a few nods in response "Starfire and I will focus on getting Robin, Cyborg and Beast Boy back. Mika, focus on getting your body back. We need all the help we can get"

"R-right"

"I do not want an audience," The Puppet King announced, causing the controlled Titans spread out. Satisfied, he pulled out a small tube filled with liquid, and threw it into his fire. Almost instantly, the fire angrily roared and grew high to the ceiling "Well, Titans...time for your grand finale"

Raven's widened as the wooden villain pulled out her friends. Her very helpless friends "No..."

"It's going to be a real showstopper" The Puppet King raised the wooden Titans close to the flames, ready to burn up their souls into ashes.

"Stop!" Robin cried.

"Don't!" Cyborg weakly muttered.

"Please!" Beast Boy pleaded.

"Don't worry. I'll take good care of your bodies. After all, they'll be mine forever" The Puppet King assured. He let go of the strings, letting his wooden puppets fall into the flames.

At least before a ball of black energy consumed them.

Even if the wooden villain count register any emotion, it was clear surprise consumed his face as the wooden Titans floated up from the fire and darted across the sky. Starfire yelped in joy as her borrowed energy landed in her equally borrowed body. She squeezed her trapped friends into a tight, warm hug.

"My friends!" Starfire squealed in delight "You are unharmed!"

"Starfire?" Robin weakly questioned.

"It's a long story" Raven explained.

The Puppet King, angered up his rather abrupt interruption, pumped his remote into the air "Go, my puppets! Capture them!"

In an instant, the green skinned teen hopped into the air and transformed into a bat, darting towards the three Titans. It was long after that Robin pounced onto the scaffolding and began his rapid ascent. Mika's body stretched out his hands and made a shiny, glimmering rope, which he threw over the rail and rapidly climbed up.

"Move!" Raven yelled, yanking Starfire's arm. Before she could dart away however, the Tamaranian screamed out as Beast Boy landed right on the catwalk. Raven rapidly turned around, causing her eyes to widen. Sure enough, their escape route was cut off the controlled boy wonder and the controlled green skinned teen. Suddenly, a large, blue laser shot up from the catwalk, sending the two Titans tumbling across the theatre. Starfire squealed in terror as the grip on her friends loosened, letting the wooden Titans crash to the ground.

Right as the two Titans plummeted to the ground, Mika quickly undid a rope and chucked it towards their direction before it simply slipped out of his transparent hands. Starfire immediately grasped onto the rope, letting the skin of her hands peel off as she violently slid down. Raven squeezed her eyes shut and concentrated in an attempt to fly and shred through the air. With no luck, she gasped and yanked the rope towards herself.

Mika cried out as one of his fans shredded through his transparent clothing. Like a knife, it dug into his soul and mind, causing...blood? He squinted in confusion, through the sharp pain and surprise. Sure enough, when he brought his finger back from his shoulder, his transparent self has his thick, red transparent blood was coated on his fingers.

He gasped, causing his eyes to widen "My fans...they can hurt me like this?"

He quickly curved his back as another fan sliced through the air, letting it to run only inches from his chest. His pale blue eyes scanned the fan as it banked around now body, and curved back to its master. Or rather, it's controlled master.

It was odd for the golden skinned teen to see himself, or rather how body acting on its own will. It's eyes are as empty as a blue black hole that swallowed any emotion in sight. The few scratches on its face and arms was a clear sign to Mika that it didn't care what happened to itself. It just wanted to serve its wooden master and attack his friends.

It was enough to cause Mika to blush angrily.

He anxiously narrowed his eyes and pointed his accusing finger towards his controlled body "Stop attacking my friends and give me back my body!"

He yelled it out even if his body didn't have a clue in the world what the ghost-like apparition spewed out. It didn't even register any emotion its mind and soul charged it. And melted into its body. Or rather Mika's.

As Mika fought tooth and nail for his body, Raven went a violent kick right into Cyborg's metal stomach. His controlled self failed to register any amount of emotion as his helpless body plunged straight down. Right towards his trapped soul.

Starfire gasped and threw her arms out "Azarath Metrion Zinthos!"

Suddenly, thick, black energy consumed Cyborg, stopping him from crushing his and his friends souls into toothpicks. Starfire's threw Cyborg to the side like trash, causing him to crash into a giant pole. Satisfied, Starfire smiled. At least until she looked up.

A horrified gasp filled her body and mind as against sand sack came rushing towards her head. She threw herself into the railing of the catwalk, letting the dangerous sand sack plummet to the ground. Before relief could come over her mind, Robin swung down from his sack trap and landed right in front of Starfire. Right as he pulled out his staff, Starfire swiped her hand across the air. In moments, the controlled Cyborg crashed straight into Robin, sending them both flying off the catwalk.

A smile crossed Raven's face as she peered down from above. A loud, threatening growl however filled her nimble ears, causing her to gasp and jump further down the catwalk. She snapped her surprised head towards the opposing side of the catwalk, revealing a very angry and unamused green gorilla. Suddenly, Beast Boy rush towards her and howled as he aimed his beefy hands into the air. Before Raven became nothing more than a splatter, she jumped back, and raised her deadly hands into the air.

"Righteous fury, righteous fury, concentrate..." She mumbled. Her hands slowly became consumed with bright, green energy. Before she could charge her powers, Beast Boy violently swatted the half-demon into a wall. Raven hissed loudly as her shoulder cracked loudly as she smashed into the wall. Her brilliant green eyes widened as the giant, black shadow that was the green gorilla towered over her.

Then a fan rushed by her face.

The sharp black and gold fan hurled right past Raven and Beast Boy, slicing into the metal railing that kept the catwalk afloat. Raven's eyes widened as the very solid and fleshy Mika landed right in front of her. Along with a fan protectively in front of his chest.

"Mika?" Raven asked. She breathed a sigh of relief as Mika's body glanced down, revealing his worried, pale blue eyes.

He lightly smiled "It's me"

The golden skinned boy caught his fan, and immediately sliced the floor right below him. A loud creaking sound filled the theatre as the last tiny, pitiful poles snapped like twigs, causing the catwalk to collapse in itself and swing away from Raven and Mika. Along with Beast Boy.

As the blank, unamused green gorilla swung away, Raven rose to her feet and swiped away the dust that coated her body.

"Are you alright?" Mika asked.

"I'm fine" Raven assured. Although she was as blank and unemotional aa ever, Mika couldn't help but smile.

"Mika, Raven, help!" Starfire suddenly screamed out.

Right as Raven snapped her head down, a loud cry filled her ears. She turned around, revealing Mika slumped up against the wall, hissing in pain. She gasped as a giant, mechanical fist whizzed past her face. She jumped frantically out of the way, before Cyborg's hand latched onto her frail head and lifted her up as though she was a doll. Raven growled and sent her feet right into his blank face. With a grunt, she flipped away from Cyborg, who crashed to the ground.

"Starfire!" Raven yelled as she rushed to the railing. She jumped straight of the catwalk and sent her foot flying into Robin. Right before the controlled boy wonder could send a violent fist into Starfire's face, Raven crashed into Robin, sending him to the ground below.

"Not me!" Starfire frantically shook her head, pointing to herself

"Them!" Mika yelled from above, pointed down. Raven followed his finger and let her newfound green eyes tail across the burning blue flames. She gasped.

The Puppet King, with the wooden Titans tight in his hands, rushed to the blue fire "The Puppet King is in command!"

"NO!"

Raven felt what she never expected to feel from whole mess of the day. She felt strong, passionate emotion.

A blazing starbolt smoked from her hand and shot off right at the wooden Villain. The green starbolt piece right into the Puppet King, causing his remote and his wooden Titans to scatter across the ground. As the Titans souls swept across the ground, the white remote arced across the air, and landed right into the glimmering blue fire.

"Uh! My control!" The Puppet King cried out. The blazing flames flared up high into the ceiling, causing a thick stream blue light to pour out of his eyes and mouth.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Mika watched as the wooden Titans twitched and moved with fury. He gasped as a sudden streak of light left their wooden bodies, like days of light that peaked from trees and vines in the earliest of mornings. Their glowing souls danced elegantly across the theatre, circling madly until they flew right back into their warm, flesh ridden bodies. Those same streaks of light leaked out of Starfire and Raven's bodies, until they finally switched into their proper bodies.

"You're alright!" Mika cried in relief as he hopped over the railing.

Starfire giggled in glee as she caressed her arms. Her own arms "I am me! And you are you!"

Cyborg grinned as he flexed his own arms "And we're us!"

"Thanks to you three" Robin with a sly grin.

Beast Boy pumped his fist into the air "You go, girls! And Mika!"

"Raven, Mika, we have done it!" Starfire exclaimed once again. Consumed in her happy emotions, she wrapped her arms around Raven and Mika in a tight, warm hug. Although Mika smiled, Raven looked as blank and unamused as ever.

"You're hugging me..." Raven muttered.

"NOOOOOOO!"

A shrill, loud scream filled the Titans ears like sharp nails on a chalkboard. The Puppet King desperately crawled towards his burning fire, as though he could scoop out the ashes of his remote with his bare hands unscaved. He dug his little wooden hands into the floor below him, scraping off the tips of his fingers.

"The magic! Without it, I'm just a..."

Before he could finish, he collapsed to the ground. His hinged jaw simply sprawled open, and his eyes separated and stared into nothingness.

Beast Boy anxiously scratched his head "So, this is the thing that caused us so much trouble?"

* * *

It was a rather bright morning on the roof of Titan tower.

The sun leaked from the shy ocean and consumed everything in sight. Everything from the giant, thin windows to the soft winds were touched by the warmness of the giant curve in the sky. Including Mika's blank face.

He let a handful of straw go from his hands into a giant, metal pot filled with blue flames. His pale blue eyes registered surprise as he yanked his hand away. Almost instant, the blue fire curled into the sky and licked the wind around it, waiting to be carried away and infest other kinds of flammable objects. Including Mika himself.

His surprise settled as the fire safely retracted into the boiling heat of the pot. Reliably safe from being set on fire and burning, he wiggled his arms under his blanket-like cape that was hung over his shoulder, and sighed. Although the cape did little to protect him from the cold, as the soft winds blew it, he still shriveled up his arms.

"Hm?" He muttered as through the crackling blue fire, the squeak of a door hissed through his ears. He blinked as he saw none other than the boy wonder carefully slide through the door.

"Oh, hi Robin" Mika greeted softly, before he turned around.

"You're up early. W-" Robin shut his mouth as he curiously peered into the blue flames of the fire. His eyes narrowed suspiciously as he saw an incredibly charred piece wood admits the straw and sticks. It didn't take much time after that for him to put the pieces together.

Robin's eyes widened as he rushed towards the golden skinned boy "Mika, are you insane? What are you-"

"It's better this way," Mika softly interrupted "I don't think we can risk that puppet ever coming back again. What I'm doing only assures the safety of our friends. That's why I'm burning him and everything else he created"

"That was evidence!" Robin protested "We need to understand why attacked us in the first place!"

"It was magic, nothing more," he turned around and clenched his fist "Please understand Robin, when he took your body I...I felt so useless. I-I-I felt so hopeless at times. I understand his plan but...I felt like I couldn't do anything about it. Starfire and Raven helped my realize differently, but I just understood that he wanted to take us down, so I'm doing what I think needs to be done," he hung his head low "I-I'm sorry!"

Robin paused, letting Mika's words simmer in his mind. Mika widened his eyes in surprise as a grin crossed Robin's face.

"Look, I understand what you mean but, we're a team. I understand that you feel alone in your feelings, but your really not. Your not the only one who felt like they count do anything today" Robin explained.

"Oh...r-right" Mika stuttered, the memories of the night flooding back to him.

"Just let us know what your thinking, ok? And don't make decisions like this on your own. We're a team for a reason, you know"

"O-of course. I-I-It won't happen again"

Robin nodded "The guys are I are planning to go out later today. You wanna come?"

Mika's face lit up like it never did before.

"Yeah!"

* * *

 **Thank you guest, brave-story, and Theboblinator for your reviews!**

 **Woo, I finally got this chapter done! I really wanted this one done by this weekend, so I grinded this chapter out! In all honesty, this was to me was difficult to write. I knew it was important to the background of Mika and his powers, so I really wanted to make sure those aspects were good before moving on. I also didn't want him to take away too much from Starfire and Raven, so that was a tough balance too. Otherwise, it was interesting to write out. (I didn't realize how much stuff in burning in this chapter until now..."**

 **I hope you enjoyed! Reviews are appreciated!**

 **\- X-Xepher-X**


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